UC-NRLF 


B    3    MMM    hfi? 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  GERMANIC  STUDIES 


THE  SOLILOQUY  IN  GERMAN  DRAMA 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
SALES  AGENTS 

NEW  YORK : 

LEMCKE  &  BUECHNER 
30-32  West  27TH  Street 

LONDON  : 
HUMPHREY  MILFORD 
Amen  Corner,  E.G. 

TORONTO  : 

HUMPHREY  MILFORD 
25  Richmond  Street,  W. 


THE  SOLILOQUY 
IN  GERMAN  DRAMA 


BY 

ERWIN  W.  ROESSLER 


Submitted  in  Partial  Fulfilment   of  the  Requirements  for 

THE  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy,  in  the  Faculty 

OF  Philosophy,  Columbia  University 


^tbs  iork 

COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

1915 


Copyright,    1915 
By  Columbia  University  Press 

Printed  from  type,  February,  1913 


PRESS  OF 

THE  NEW  ERA  PRINTING  COMPANY 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


Approved  for  publication,  on  behalf  of  the  Department  of 
Germanic  Laiignages  and  Literatures  of  Columbia  University. 

Calvin  Thomas. 

New  York,  December,  19 14 


t^i-^f  iT*  Mi  r^ 


TO 

MY  PARENTS 

WHOSE  SELF-DENIAL  MADE  POSSIBLE  MY  EDUCATION 


CONTENTS 
Introduction  1 

Chapter 

I.  Early  Indigenous  Drama 20 

1.  Medieval  Church  Plays. 

2.  Shrovetide  Plays  of  the  Fifteenth  Century. 

3.  Drama  of  the  Reformation. 

4.  Hans  Sachs. 

5.  Herzog  Heinrich  Julius  von  Braunschweig. 

6.  Jakob  Ayrer. 

II.  The  Pseudo-Classic  Drama 34 

1.  Gryphius. 

2.  Lohenstein. 

3.  Christian   Weise. 

4.  Gottsched  and  his  Followers. 

III.  The  Era  of  Lessing,  Goethe,  Schiller 42 

1.  Lessing. 

2.  Storm  and  Stress  Drama. 

3.  Schiller. 

4.  Goethe. 

IV.  The  Romantic  Drama 76 

1.  Heinrich  von  Kleist. 

2.  Franz  Grillparzer. 

V.  Forerunners  of  Modern  Realistic  Drama 88 

1.  Friedrich  Hebbel.      • 

2.  Otto  Ludwig. 

3.  Ludwig  Anzengruber. 

VI.  Recent  Developments 100 

1.  Hauptmann. 

2.  Sudermann. 

Conclusion    ^09 

Bibliography    113 

Index    116 


INTRODUCTION 

In  the  family  of  dramatic  conventions  no  member  has  played 
so  important  a  role,  and  on  the  other  hand  none  has  had  so 
ignominious  an  ending,  after  a  most  glorious  career,  as  the 
soliloquy.  In  its  present  crushed  and  lowly  estate,  it  forcibly 
reminds  one  of  the  last  years  of  the  great  exile  at  St.  Helena. 
After  centuries  of  the  greatest  popularity  with  both  playwright 
and  audience,  the  soliloquy  has  at  last  met  with  the  fate  of  most 
popular  idols  and  been  ruthlessly  ousted  from  its  comfortable 
throne. 

This  revulsion  of  feeling  occurred  in  the  final  decades  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  when  "the  leading  playwrights  of  every 
modern  language  began  to  display  a  distaste  for  the  monolog, 
with  Ibsen  setting  the  example  of  renunciation."^  There  seems 
to  be  a  consensus  of  opinion  regarding  Ibsen's  stimulating 
influence  on  the  technic  of  modern  drama,^  an  influence  which 
manifested  itself  particularly  in  the  disappearance  of  the  solil- 
oquy from  the  drama.  Mr,  Hamilton  says :  "  The  present 
prevalence  of  objection  to  soliloquy  and  aside  is  due  largely 
to  the  strong  influence  of  Ibsen's  rigid  dramaturgic  structure."^ 
Mr.  Henderson,  commenting  upon  Ibsen's  remark  that  his 
"  League  of  Youth  "  is  written  "  without  a  single  monolog,  in 
fact,  without  a  single  aside,"  declares :  "  In  this  respect,  I  be- 
lieve Ibsen  sounded  the  deathknell  of  the  monolog,  the  solil- 
oquy, the  aside,  and  by  his  practice  soon  rendered  ridiculous 
those  dramatists  who  persisted  in  employing  these  devices."* 

1  A  Study  of  the  Drama,  by  Brander  Matthews,  New  York,  1910,  p.  142. 

2  The  Development  of  the  Drama,  by  Brander  Matthews,  New  York, 
1906,  pp.  37,  321,  326,^'349^  Der  Monolog  und  Ibsen,  by  R.  Franz,  Mar- 
burg, 1907,  p.  95.  Die  deutsche  Literatur  des  19.  Jahrhunderts,  R.  M. 
Meyer,  Berlin,   1906,  pp.  709^  787,  etc. 

3  Theory  of  the  Theatre,  by  Clayton  Hamilton,  New  York,  1910,  p.  88. 

4  The  Evolution  of  Dramatic  Technic,  by  Archibald  Henderson,  North 
American  Review,  March,  1909,  p.  439.  For  this  and  a  few  other  citations 
I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Arnold's  monograph  on  The  Soliloquies  of  Shake- 
speare.    New  York,    191 1. 

2  1 


R.  V.  Gottschall  repeatedly  rails  at  Ibsen  for  having  given  the 
soliloquy  its  deathblow.^ 

Professor  Brander  Matthews  admits  that  Ibsen  "has  been 
masterly  in  his  adjustment  of  his  methods  to  the  conditions  of 
the  picture-frame  stage,"^  but  shifts  the  real  responsibility  for 
the  disappearance  of  the  soliloquy  a  little  further  back  upon 
Edison's  shoulders,  as  the  introduction  of  electric  lighting 
together  with  the  picture-frame  stage  created  a  setting  so  real- 
istic that  the  stepping  out  of  the  picture  to  talk  intimately  with 
the  audience  was  felt  to  be  entirely  out  of  place.  The  fact 
remains,  however,  that  Ibsen  was  the  first  to  realize  this  inap- 
propriateness  and,  having  realized  it,  to  perfect  a  new  techinc 
that  discarded  soliloquies  and  asides.  Accordingly  he  is  en- 
titled to  the  greatest  credit. 

Before  discussing  the  various  types  of  soliloquy  and  quoting 
the  opinions  held  by  critics  and  poets  regarding  the  value  and 
justification  of  the  same,  a  definition  of  the  soliloquy  might  not 
be  amiss. 

St.  Augustine  coined  the  Latin  soliloquium  from  solus  and 
loqui,  a  "talking  alone,"  from  which  the  English  form  is 
derived.^  The  Standard  Dictionary  defines  soliloquy  as  a  talk- 
ing to  one's  self  regardless  of  the  presence  or  absence  of  others, 
a  discourse  uttered  for  one's  own  benefit.  The  French  form 
soliloque  is  defined  as  the  discourse  of  a  person  who  talks  to 
himself.*  For  some  mysterious  reason  the  German  language 
has  refused  the  rights  of  naturalization  to  the  Latin  applicant, 
and  there  seems  to  be  but  one  instance^  of  its  use  and  that  in 
the  Latin  form.  In  the  above  definitions  it  is  noteworthy  that 
there  is  not  the  slightest  suggestion  of  the  stage  or  the  drama. 

Turning  to  the  word  monolog,  from  the  Greek  /movos  and  Xoyos, 
a  "talking  alone,"  what  do  we  find?  Oxford  dictionary:  "  a 
scene  in  which  a  person  of  the  drama  speaks  by  himself ;  con- 
trasted with  chorus  and  dialogue."    Standard :  a  dramatic  solil- 

iZur  Kritik  des  modernen  Dramas,  by  R.  v.  Gottschall,  Berlin,  1900, 
pp.  II,  119,  213. 

2  Matthews,  A  Study  of  the  Drama,  p.  64. 

3  W.  W.  Skeat,  Etymological  Dictionary. 

4  Nouveau   Larousse,   vol.    7. 

5  Bodmer  in  a  letter  to  C.  H.  Miller,  March  5,  1782. 


3 

oquy.  Both  add  a  modern  use,  viz.,  a  dramatic  composition  for 
a  single  performer,  a  kind  of  dramatic  entertainment  per- 
formed throughout  by  one  person,  as,  e.  g.,  a  monolog  in  vau- 
deville. The  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  Meyer's  and  Brockhaus' 
Konversations-Lexika  and  La  grande  Encyclopedic  all  agree 
that  a  monolog  is  a  passage  in  a  dramatic  piece  in  which  a 
personage  holds  the  scene  to  himself  and  speaks  to  himself. 
It  would  seem,  then,  that  monolog  and  soliloquy,  although  ety- 
mologically  equivalent,  are  not  synonymous,  inasmuch  as  the 
former  refers  to  a  portion  of  a  drama,  whereas  the  latter  does 
not  necessarily  suggest  the  footlights.  The  difficulty  can  be 
peacefully  settled,  however,  and  both  of  the  contestants  put 
upon  an  equal  footing  by  prefixing  "dramatic"  to  soliloquy. 
Why  English  and  American  critics,  with  few  exceptions,^  have 
preferred  the  term  soliloquy,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  all  Ger- 
man^  and  French  critics  and  dramatists  have  used  Monolog 
and  monologue  respectively,  is  a  question  that  I  am  unable  ta 
answer. 

I  should  accordingly  re-phrase  Dr.  Arnold's  definition,  "  It 
is  evident  that  all  soliloquies  are  monologs,  but  that  monologs- 
are  not  necessarily  sohloquies,"^  as  follows :  Not  all  soliloquies 
are  monologs,  but  monologs  are  necessarily  dramatic  soliloquies. 

A  dramatic  soliloquy  then  is  a  passage  in  a  drama  in  which  a 
character  is  alone  upon  the  stage  and  speaks  to  himself,  believ- 
ing himself  to  be  alone.  Even  when  the  character  is  not  alone 
on  the  stage  his  speech  may  be  a  soliloquy  if  it  shows  that  the 
character  is  entirely  oblivious  to  his  surroundings. 

How  does  the  aside  differ  from  the  soliloquy?  Mr.  Paull,* 
Mr.  Henderson^  and  Dr.  Hennequin*  maintain  that  it  is  noth- 
ing more  than  a  short  monolog.     Inasmuch  as  the  aside  is  a 

1  Dryden,  Essay  on  Dramatic  Poesy,  1668.  Hedelin,  The  Whole  Art  of 
the  Stage  Made  English,  1684.  A.  Hennequin,  The  Art  of  Play  writing, 
1890. 

2  The  word  Selbstgesprach  is  occasionally  used,  but  it  may  refer  to  a 
soliloquy  off  the  stage  as  well  as  to  a  monolog. 

3  The  Soliloquies  of  Shakespeare,  p.  2. 

4  Dramatic  Convention  with  Special  Reference  to  the  Soliloquy,  Fort- 
nightly Review,  May,  1899,  p.  863  ff. 

5  The  Evolution  of  Dramatic  Technic,  North  American  Review,  March, 
1909,  p.  432  ff. 

6  Art  of  Play  writing,  p.   152  ff. 


remark  uttered  by  an  actor  on  the  stage  so  as  not  to  be  heard  by 
other  characters  on  the  stage,  it  violates  two  of  the  principles 
of  the  monolog.  The  speaker  of  the  aside  is  not  alone  on  the 
stage,  nor  does  he  believe  himself  alone ;  he  is  not  speaking  to 
himself,  but  nearly  always  to  the  audience.  The  distinctive 
characteristic  of  the  aside  is  that  it  occurs  in  the  midst  of  dia- 
log, although  it  is  also  regularly  used  in  connection  with  the 
overheard  soliloquy. 

The  overheard  soliloquy,  frequently  employed  in  Roman 
comedy,  crops  out  in  large  numbers  in  Gryphius's  comedies  and 
continues  to  be  in  vogue  till  Lessing's  time — a  good  example 
occurs  in  "  Der  junge  Gelehrte."  Kleist  makes  use  of  this 
device  on  one  occasion,  but  as  a  rule  it  has  been  tabooed  by 
serious  drama.  It  is,  indeed,  an  "arrant  absurdity,  a  contra- 
diction in  terms. "^  Inasmuch  as  the  convention  of  the  dra- 
matic soliloquy  is  that  the  audience  is  permitted  to  overhear  the 
thoughts  of  a  character  when  he  is  alone  on  the  stage,  that  the 
thoughts  are  made  audible  only  for  the  audience,  the  absurdity 
of  one  actor  actually  overhearing  another's  thoughts  becomes 
evident. 

The  definition  of  monolog  and  soliloquy,  the  former  refer- 
ring to  the  stage,  the  latter  to  real  life,  naturally  suggests  the 
question :  To  what  extent  is  it  natural  to  soliloquize  oflF  the 
stage  ?  "  No  person  in  the  full  possession  of  his  senses  will 
utter  more  than  short  exclamations  when  he  is  alone.  He  may 
cry,  sing,  whistle,  even  laugh,  mumble  a  few  words,  but  never 
'express  what  he  feels,  least  of  all  what  he  intends  to  do."^  Dr. 
Arnold  says  that  it  is  undeniable  that  people  do  talk  to  them- 
selves, but  that  it  is  preposterous  "that  young,  healthy  persons 
audibly  set  forth  their  secret  ideas  at  great  length. "^  I  hardly 
believe  that  only  the  aged  and  infirm  indulge  in  this  peculiarity. 
Say  what  one  will,  the  fact  remains  that  a  person  who  sohlo- 
■  quizes  is  considered  peculiar,  if  not  slightly  demented.  As  Jean 
Paul  puts  it :  "A  person  who  in  his  waking  moments  talks  to 
himself  fills  us  with  a  shudder;  and  if  I  hear  myself  talking 

1  Brander  Matthews,  Putnam's  Monthly,  Nov.,  1906,  p.  183. 

2  R.  Franz,  Der  Monolog  und  Ibsen,  Marburg,  1907,  p.  42. 
«  The  Soliloquies  of  Shakespeare,  p.  20. 


when  alone  I  have  the  same  feeling."^  Gottfried  Keller  in  his 
autobiographical  novel  confesses:  "I  felt  ashamed  of  myself; 
I  could  not  hear  myself  talk  alone  and  I  was  no  longer  able  to 
pray  aloud  even  in  the  deepest  solitude  and  secrecy. "^  Heyse' 
refers  to  soliloquizing  as  a  weakness ;  Dostojewsky*  refers  to  a 
soliloquizer  as  a  hypochondriac.  Paull  tersely  says :  "  A  man 
does  not  speak  to  himself,  unless  indeed  he  is  beside  himself."^ 
But — altera  pars  audiatur!  For  the  soliloquy  has  champions 
as  well  as  sarcastic  defamers.  Diderot,  in  his  essay  on  dra- 
matic poetry,  writes:  "You  know  that  I  have  long  been  in  the 
habit  of  soliloquizing.  When  I  return  home  sad  and  chagrined 
I  retire  to  my  study  and  there  I  question  myself  and  ask :  what 
ails  you  ?  ''^  Marmontel  in  his  "  Poetique  "  defends  the  soliloquy 
in  ardent  fashion :  "  It  is  entirely  natural  to  speak  to  one's  self. 
There  is  not  a  person  who  does  not  find  himself  talking  to 
himself  at  times  about  matters  that  affect  or  seriously  interest 
him."''  Nicolai  maintains  that  it  is  not  contrary  to  nature  for 
a  person  who  is  aroused  or  excited  to  talk  to  himself.®  Hen- 
derson grants  that  "  people  sometimes — and  not  infrequently — 
do  give  audible  expression  to  their  thoughts  and  feelings."' 
According  to  H.  Gartelmann  it  is  "  a  well  known  phenomenon 
that  people  not  infrequently  begin  to  think  aloud,  to  soliloquize, 
when  greatly  moved.""  The  almost  proverbial  dictum,  "There 
is  but  one  step  from  the  sublime  to  the  ridiculous,"  is  said  to 
be  a  part  of  a  soliloquy  delivered  by  Napoleon  on  his  return 
from  Russia.  Dr.  H.  Schlag  denies  that  soliloquies  are  un- 
natural and  insists  that  many  persons  when  alone  allow  their 
thoughts  to  become  audible.^^ 

1  Titan,  94.     Zykel,  Hempel's  ed.,  Vol.   15-18,  p.  434.     For  this  and  a 
few  other  quotations  I  am  indebted  to  R.  Franz,  ut  supra. 

2  Der  griine  Heinrich,  I,  44,  ed.  1904. 

3  Merlin,  I,  59,  ed.   1892. 

4  Ein  sanftes  Weib,  Magazin  fur  Litteratur,   1897,  p.  1506. 

5  Op.  cit.,  p.  868. 

6  Oeuvres   completes,   ed.   by   Assezat,   Paris,    1895.     Belles   Lettres   IV, 
Chap.  XVII. 

7  Oeuvres,  second  ed.,  Paris,  1767,  Vol.  I,  p.  359  ff. 

8  Abhandlung    vom    Trauerspiele,    in    Bibliothek    der    schonen    Wissen- 
schaften,  etc.,  1757.  I>  P-  48  IT. 

9  Op.  cit.,  p.  433- 

10  Dramatik,  Berlin,   1892, 'p.   169. 

n  Das  Drama,  Essen,  1909,  p.  306  ff. 


6 

So  much  for  the  views,  favorable  and  otherwise,  on  the 
sohloquy  off  the  stage.  What,  on  the  other  hand,  are  the  views 
of  the  critics  with  regard  to  the  dramatic  soliloquy,  the  mono- 
log?  Long  soliloquies  have  been  the  subject  of  attacks  for 
several  centuries  and  in  many  climes.  About  the  middle  of 
the  i6th  century  an  Italian  critic,  dramatist  and  impresario, 
De  Sommi  of  Mantua,  objects  to  monologs,  basing  his  objec- 
tion on  the  fact  that  long  soliloquies  on  the  street  are  entirely 
unnatural.^  A  reporter  in  Pesaro  in  1574  bewails  his  sad  lot, 
as  the  monotony  of  the  soliloquies  in  a  comedy  he  had  to  criti- 
cize proved  almost  unendurable.-  Hedelin,  Abbe  d'Aubignac, 
(1657)  objects  strenuously  to  expositional  soliloquies,  ce 
mauvais  artifice,  ce  secours  etranger,  and  also  to  emotional 
soliloquies  whose  position  in  the  drama  makes  them  absurd :  as, 
e.  g.,  when  a  lover,  hearing  of  a  danger  that  threatens  his  mis- 
tress, soliloquizes  at  great  length  instead  of  hurrying  to  her 
aid.^  The  Earl  of  Mulgrave  in  his  "  Essay  on  Poetry  "  (1717) 
believed  that : 

"  First  then.  Soliloquies  had  need  be  few. 
Extremely  short,  and  spoke  in  passion  too."* 

Gottsched,  a  few  years  later  (1730),  after  condemning  all 
soliloquies  on  the  ground  that  "kluge  Leute  pflegen  nicht 
laut  zu  reden,  wenn  sie  allein  sind,"  relents  and  adds :  "  es 
ware  denn  in  besonderen  Affekten,  und  das  zwar  mit  wenig 
Worten."^  Ramler,  who  is  little  more  than  the  editor  and 
translator  of  Batteux,  insists  that  "every  soliloquy  must  be 
short,  because  it  is  almost  unnatural.  If  it  is  long,  the  person 
must  be  violently  agitated."*' 

J.  von  Sonnenfels,  theatrical  censor  at  Vienna  and  author  of 
"Briefe  iiber  die  Wienerische  Schaubiihne,"  objects  to  all 
monologs  on  the  ground  of  their  improbability,  especially  to 

1  Geschichte  des  neueren  Dramas,  W.    Creizenach,  Vol.  II,  p.  287. 

2  Ibid.,  note  2,   p.   287. 

8  Pratique  du  Theatre,  Paris,  1657.  Englished  in  1684:  The  Whole  Art 
of  the  Stage. 

*An  Essay  on  Poetry,  London,  1717,  p.  308. 

5  Versuch  eincr  critischen  Dichtkunst,  p.  598. 

8  Einleitung  in  die  schonen  Wissenschaften,  S.  K.  W.  Ramler  Vol  II 
p.  246  ff.  ,         .      , 


the  purely  expositional  type.  He  finds  them  permissible  only 
when  passion  is  at  its  height,  and  the  heart  too  small  to  con- 
tain .the  inner  struggle.  But  even  then  long,  logically  arranged 
speeches  are  out  of  place.  "  In  such  moments  the  restless  char-  f 
acter  utters  disjointed,  disconnected  speeches,  he  articulates 
gebrochene  Tone,  he  is  restless,  sits,  stands,  runs  back  and 
forth,  acts  strangely."^  G.  Freytag  practically  condemns  dra- 
matic soliloquies,  saying  that  the  isolation  of  a  character  on 
the  stage  always  requires  an  apology,  and  that  monologs  are 
not  a  necessary  adjunct  of  modern  dramas  because  of  the 
numerous  opportunities  of  disclosing  thoughts  and  feelings 
which  the  modern  stage  gives  to  the  characters.  He  also  claims 
that  the  art  of  acting  has  brought  about  a  changed  conception 
of  dramatic  effects.^  Edgar  Allan  Poe  finds  both  asides  and 
soliloquies  preposterous  and  not  as  respectable  as  the  shifts 
employed  by  Chinese  playwrights. ^  Henderson  does  not  go 
quite  so  far  as  Freytag  when  he  says :  "  Dramatic  craftsman- 
ship has  to-day  reached  a  point  of  such  complex  excellence 
that  the  best  dramatists  refuse  to  employ  so  unworthy  a  device 
as  the  lengthy  soliloquy."*  Brevity  is  also  insisted  upon  by 
Mr.  Archer :  "  A  few  broken  exclamations  under  high  emotion 
is  all  the  soliloquy  that  strict  art  should  permit,  for  high  emo- 
tion does  in  many  cases  manifest  itself  in  speech."'  It  is  note- 
worthy that  critics  have  been  unanimous  in  condemning  the 
expositional  soliloquy. 

Not  all  critics,  however,  have  objected  to  the  long  dramatic 
soliloquy  which  lays  bare  the  soul.  Hedelin  approved  of  it, 
though  with  misgivings,  when  he  said :  "  I  confess  that  it  is 
sometimes  very  pleasant  to  see  a  man  upon  the  stage  lay  open 
his  heart,  and  speak  boldly  of  his  most  secret  thoughts,  ex- 
plain his  designs,  and  give  vent  to  all  that  his  passion  sug- 
gests ;  but  without  doubt  it  is  very  hard  to  make  an  actor  do  it 

1  Friedrich  DiiseK  Der  dramatische  Monolog  in  dcr  Poetik  dcs  17.  und 
18.  Jahrhunderts  und  in  dfen  Dramen  Lessings,  p.   15,  Hamburg,   1897. 
2Technik  des  Dramas,  loth  ed.,  1905,  p.  192  ff. 
8  Woodberry  ed.,  Vol.  7,  Marginalia. 
*  Op.  cit.,  p.  440. 
5  English   Dramatists  of  Today,  p.   274. 


8 

with  probability."^  Diderot  favors  the  emotional  soliloquy, 
but  objects  to  its  being  lengthy.  Dr.  Arnold's  quotation :  "  Man 
speaks  to  himself  only  in  moments  of  perplexity,"^  is  incom- 
plete, as  Diderot  adds:  "If  long,  it  sins  against  the  nature  of 
dramatic  action,  which  it  holds  in  suspense  too  much."^  Nicolai 
prefers  the  emotional  monolog  to  a  colorless  conversation  with 
a  confidant.*  Mendelssohn  is  especially  enthusiastic  about  that 
type  of  soliloquy  in  which  violent  inner  conflict  precedes  a 
final  decision,  but  demands  natural  artless  expression  in  all 
emotional  soliloquies.^  Though  Freytag  in  his  authoritative 
dramaturgic  work  is  rather  unfriendly  to  the  soliloquy,  he  is 
willing  to  tolerate  the  introspective  soliloquy,  provided  that  it 
has  dramatic  structure  and  direct  bearing  upon  the  action.  He 
insists  that  it  must  contain  "  Satz,  Gegensatz,  Ergebnis  und 
zwar  Schlussergebnis,  das  fiir  die  Handlung  selbst  Bedeutung 
gewinnt."^  J.  J.  Engel  made  the  same  demand  as  early  as 
1774:  "  The  monolog  must  be  really  dramatic — monologs  which 
bring  about  an  important  change  in  the  frame  of  mind  of  the 
character,  and  by  that  means  in  the  plot,  are  commendable."^ 

Lessing,®  following  in  Diderot's  footsteps,  is  a  warm  admirer 
of  the  emotional  soliloquy.  A.  W.  von  Schlegel  demands  that 
every  emotional  soliloquy  be  cast  in  the  dialog  form,  that  it 
be  sich  mit  sich  selbst  hesprechen,^  as  though  the  character 
were  divided  into  two  persons.  Hebbel  insists  upon  the  same 
characteristic :  "  Monologs  are  only  proper  when  there  is  dual- 
ism in  the  individual,  so  that  the  two  persons  who  at  other 
times  ought  to  be  on  the  stage  seem  to  be  active  in  his  breast."^" 
According  to  HegeP^  all  introspective  soliloquies  are  justified, 

iThe  Whole  Art  of  the  Stage,  p.  57. 
2  P.  18. 

8  Oeuvres  completes,  Paris,  1875 ;  Belles  Lettres  IV,  Chap.  XVII. 
*  F.    Nicolai,    Abhandlung    vom    Trauerspiele,    Bibliothek    der    schonen 
Wissenschaften  und  der  freyen  Kiinste,  Vol.  I,  p.  48. 
6  Gesammelte  Schriften,   1843,  Vol.  I,  p.  321  ff. 

6  Technik  des  Dramas,  p.    192  ff. 

7  Schriften,  1802,  Vol.  4,  p.  228.  For  this  and  a  few  other  citations  I 
am  indebted  to  the  scholarly  monograph  of  F.  Diisel. 

8  Hamburgische  Dramaturgic,  48.     Stiick. 

0  Sammtliche  Werke,  Leipzig,   1846,  VII,   50. 
10  Tagebucher,  II,  2971,  ed.  by  Werner,  Berlin,  1904. 
"Aesthetik,   Vol.   III.     Quoted  by  R.  v.   Gottschall  in  Zur  Kritik  des 
moderncn  Dramas,  Berlin,  1900,  Chap,  on  Der  Monolog  im  Drama,  p.  112. 


9 

whether  they  are  calmly  reflective  or  rent  by  inner  conflict. 
Vischer/  on  the  other  hand,  demands  Affekt  i.  e.  emotion. 
Among  other  admirers  I  might  mention  Mundt,"  Gartelmann,^ 
Schlag,*  Gottschall,^  Ludwig,«  Delius/  Kilian.^ 

Contemporary  opinion  as  mirrored  in  the  modern  natural- 
istic dramas  appears  distinctly  hostile  to  the  dramatic  solilo- 
quy, this  hostility  manifesting  itself  in  ostracizing  the  once 
welcome  assistant.  Gottschall,  an  ardent  admirer  of  the  solil- 
oquy, sums  up  the  present  condition  as  follows :  "  From  the 
Berlin  Sinai  ten  new  commandments  are  announced  to  the 
kneeling  populace.  And  to  these  ten  belongs  the  following: 
Thou  shalt  no  longer  write  monologs  !  "^  But  this  new  state  of 
affairs  is  not  without  precedents.  As  Dr.  Arnold  points  out, 
Corneille,  more  than  two  centuries  ago,  discarded  the  soliloquy 
in  the  greater  part  of  his  later  works  and  comments  upon  the 
fact  in  the  introduction  to  his  works,  thus  showing  that  it  was 
premeditated  and  not  accidental.^  Moliere's  masterpieces  also 
contain  practically  no  soliloquies,  his  "  Impromptu,"  the  "  Cri- 
tique "  and  the  "  Comtesse  d'Escarbagnnes "  having  none  at 
all.  German  literature  furnishes  us  a  precedent  in  the  dramas 
of  the  pupils  and  followers  of  Gottsched,  especially  those 
of  Johann  Elias  Schlegel  and  Frau  Gottsched.  Gottsched's 
"Deutsche  Schaubuhne"^"^  consists  for  the  greater  part  of  plays 
in  which  soliloquies  and  asides  are  entirely  avoided.^^  Why  did 
their  departure  from  traditional  dramatic  technic  fail  to  influ- 
ence succeeding  dramatists?  Why  could  they  not  exert  the 
same  influence  that  Ibsen  through  his  technic  has  exerted  upon 
the  playwrights  of  practically  every  modern  language?     Pri- 

lAesthetik,  Stuttgart,   1857,  Vol.  IV,  p.    1392. 

2  Theodor  Mundt,  Dramaturgic,  Berlin,  1848,  p.  138  ff. 

3  Dramatik,  Berlin,    1892,  p.   169  ff. 

4  Das  Drama,  p.  306  ff. 

5  Zur  Kritik  des  modernen  Dramas,  Berlin,   1900,  pp.   109-127. 

6  Otto  Ludwig,  Shakespeare-Studien,  ed.  by  M.  Heydrich,  1874,  Nach- 
lassschriften.  Vol.  II,  p.   105. 

7  Arnold,  p.   19. 

8  Op.  cit.,  p.    log. 

9  Arnold,  p.   15. 

10  Leipzig,  1740-1745. 

11  Rudolf  Franz,  Der  Monolog  und  Ibsen,  p.  32. 


10 

marily  and  chiefly  because  contemporary  and  succeeding 
dramatists  (and  incidentally  audiences)  did  not  question  the 
convention  of  the  soHIoquy.  Then,  too,  the  small  intrinsic 
worth  of  the  plays  militated  against  their  being  used  as  models 
by  other  dramatists.  For  some  years  past,  however,  the  dra- 
matic soliloquy  has  been  subjected  to  criticism,  which  received 
added  stimulus  from  the  new  technic  of  Ibsen's  powerful  plays. 
But  when  a  convention  is  attacked  and  becomes  the  topic  of 
dispute,  its  days  are  numbered.  As  Paull  so  aptly  expresses 
it :  "A  convention  that  is  questioned  is  doomed ;  its  existence 
depends  upon  its  unhesitating  acceptance."^ 

The  drama  has  its  conventions  as  well  as  every  other  art. 
A  convention  is  an  implied  pact  between  the  artist  and  his 
patrons  to  accept  certain  variations  from  real  life  as  absolutely 
essential  means  of  expression.^  To  enjoy  an  opera  we  must 
accept  the  convention  that  all  the  characters  express  themselves 
through  the  medium  of  song ;  in  sculpture  we  do  not  look  for 
color  (although  Klinger  has  favored  the  world  of  art  with  a 
few  colored  statues) ;  in  paintings  motion  is  'out  of  the  ques- 
tion. Dramatic  convention,  then,  is  an  agreement  between  the 
author  and  the  public,  between  those  before  the  curtain  and 
those  behind  it,  to  accept  variations  from  real  life  off  the  stage 
as  a  part  of  the  game.  Among  the  conventions  of  the  drama 
some  are  essential,  and  these  may  be  termed  permanent  because 
of  their  enduring  qualities.  Others,  however,  have  changed 
from  age  to  age ;  after  being  used  for  a  time  they  have  been 
discarded,  and  these  might  be  called  temporary  conventions. 
Among  the  permanent  conventions  are  the  removal  of  the 
fourth  wall  of  the  room  so  that  we  can  see  what  is  taking 
place,  the  raising  of  the  actors'  voices  so  that  we  can  hear  them, 
the  elucidation  of  the  plot  so  that  we  can  follow  it,  making  the 
action  much  more  compact  than  it  would  be  in  life,  the  conden- 
sation of  the  dialog,  as  we  have  only  a  short  time  in  the  theater. 
Some  of  the  temporary  conventions  are  the  use  of  prose,  verse, 
rime,  assonance  and  the  soliloquy.  The  latter  has  been  so  tena- 
cious a  convention,  that  one  might  well  say  that  it  has  been 

1  Fortnightly  Review,  May,   1899,  p.  870. 

2  Brandcr  Matthews,  The  Development  of  the  Drama,  p.  2  ff. 


11 

demoted  to  the  temporary  division  after  being  at  home  in  the 
other  division  for  centuries. 

The  dramatic  soliloquy,  then,  is  a  convention  and  is  not  based 
on  real  Hfe.  As  generally  stated,  this  variation  from  life,  this 
convention,  permits  an  actor  who  believes  himself  to  be  alone 
on  the  stage  to  make  his  thoughts  audible  so  that  the  audience 
hears  them  and  becomes  acquainted  with  what  would  otherwise 
be  unknown  to  them.  In  other  words,  "  an  actor  soliloquizing 
must  be  supposed  to  be  thinking  aloud. "^  Does  this  statement 
regarding  the  underlying  principle  of  the  monolog  cover  the 
ground  and  include  all  types?  It  would  seem  that  only  the  in- 
trospective soliloquies,  those  that  reveal  thought  and  feeling, 
are  taken  care  of.  The  expositional  soliloquy,  which  conveys 
information  regarding  the  plot  or  the  characters  to  the  audi- 
ence, is  not  provided  for  in  that  definition.  I  should  formulate 
the  principle  underlying  the  expositional  soliloquy  as  follows: 
The  speaker  loses  his  personality  for  the  time  being,  becomes 
the  mouthpiece  of  the  author,  and,  while  talking  to  himself 
(in  reality  to  the  audience),  conveys  to  the  audience  such  infor- 
mation as  the  author  desires;  whereas  the  introspective  mono- 
log  is  highly  subjective  and  vibrant  with  the  speaker's  person- 
ality, the  expositional  type  is  colorless,  objective  and  impersonal. 

Given  the  problem  of  reducing  the  dramatic  soliloquy  to  its 
lowest  terms,  the  investigator  would  doubtless  find  the  result 
to  be,  broadly-  speaking,  the  soliloquy  conveying  information 
and  the  soliloquy  revealing  thought  and  emotion.  Classified 
according  to  their  underlying  convention,  the  former  might  be 
termed  verbal  soliloquyj  the  latter  a  thought  soliloquy.  Lastly, 
their  relation  to  the  audience  differs,  inasmuch  as  the  soliloquy . 
conveying  information  always  implies  a  consciousness  of  the 
audience,  especially  so  in  its  crude  use  in  early  German  drama, 
while  the  thought  soliloquy  never  implies  a  knowledge  of  the 
spectators. 

The  soliloquy  that  imparts  information  has  played  a  most 
important  role  in  the  construction  of  the  drama,  especially  at 
the  beginning,  where  it  performs  the  important  office  of  putting 

1  Brander  Matthews,  Concerning  the  Soliloquy,  Putnam's  Monthly,  Nov,, 
1906. 


12 

the  audience  in  touch  with  the  author,  of  bridging  over  the 
chasm  between  author  and  spectator.     The  spectators,  in  order 
to  understand  the  action,  must  be  made  aware  of  certain  facts 
concerning  the   characters   and   the  plot;  they  must  become 
acquainted  with  certain  events  that  have  occurred  before  the 
play  begins.     The  task  of  conveying  such  information,  known 
as  exposition,  may  be  undertaken  by  monolog  or  dialog.     The 
former  is  a  labor  saving  device,  fulfilling  its  task  with  ease  and 
despatch,  but  critics  from  Hedelin  down  to  the  present  time 
have  pronounced  it  crude,  unnatural,  a  lame  makeshift,  an  in- 
sult to  the  intelligence  of  the  audience.     The  latter,  on  the 
other  hand,  though  slower  and  more  difficult,  is  the  more  artis- 
tic method.     The  expositional  soliloquy  was  a  favorite  device 
with  German  dramatists  before  Hauptmann,  Holz,  Sudermann, 
and  other  members  of  the  modern  naturalistic  school,  not  only 
at  the  beginning  of  the  play  but  throughout  its  course.     In  a 
play  the  author  is  often  confronted  with  the  necessity  of  im- 
parting some  specific  piece  of  information  to  the  audience  in 
order  to  prevent  confusion,  and  without  compunction  he  resorts 
to  the  least  taxing  and  simplest  method,  viz.,  the  expositional 
soliloquy.     It  may  describe  some  event :  a  battle,  a  murder,  or 
what  not,  that  has  occurred  off  the  stage  during  the  progress  of 
the  play  or  is  occurring  back  of  the  scenes ;  it  may  be  narrative, 
identifying,  self-characterizing,  or  it  may  be  employed  to  reveal 
the  plans  and  intentions  of  the  speaker.     No  matter  when  ex- 
planation is  necessary,  the  expositional  soliloquy  is  ready  and 
willing  to  jump  into  the  breach.     The  different  types  of  expo- 
sitional soliloquy  may  be  classified  as  follows:  i.  introductory 
exposition,  2.  identification,  3.  self-characterization,  4.  narra- 
tion, 5.  description,  6.  intention. 

Naturally  the  purest  and  least  adulterated  forms  of  the  ex- 
positional soliloquy  are  found  among  the  early  dramatists,  the 
authors  of  church  plays,  Hans  Sachs,  and  his  contemporaries, 
handicapped  as  they  were  by  a  very  crude  technic  and  but  a 
step  removed  from  the  epic  style.  To  be  sure  we  find  ex- 
amples of  the  baldly  expositional  soliloquy  throughout  German 
dramatic  literature  (except  in  the  naturalistic  drama  of  today, 
as  previously  stated),  but  generally  some  attempt  is  made  to 


13 

render  it  more  plausible  by  giving  it  an  emotional  admixture  or 
an  individual  touch. 

The  introductory  expositional  soliloquy  supplies  the  audience 
with  such  information  regarding  the  plot  and  the  characters  as 
is  necessary  for  following  the  story  intelligently.  Before  Gry- 
phius  the  majority  of  plays  began  with  this  short  cut ;  beginning 
with  him,  however,  the  dialog  opening  was  the  preferred 
method  of  attack.  We  find  introductory  expositional  solilo- 
quies in  two  of  Gryphius's  plays,  "  Carolus  Stuardus "  and 
"  Papinianus,"  in  Lessing's  "  Philotas  "  and  "  Emilia  Galotti," 
in  Schiller's  prolog  to  "  Die  Jungfrau  von  Orleans,"  in  Goethe's 
"  Iphigenie "  and  in  his  "  Faust,"  although  there  is  a  large 
admixture  of  other  elements  in  both  the  latter,  in  Grillparzer's 
"  Ahnf  rau,"  "  Des  Meeres  und  der  Liebe  Wellen,"  and  "  Der 
Traum  ein  Leben,"  in  Hebbel's  "Michelangelo"  and  "Agnes 
Bernauer."  More  than  forty  of  Sach's  shrovetide  plays  and 
many  of  his  comedies  and  tragedies  furnish  uncontaminated 
examples  of  this  type. 

The  soliloquy  employed  to  identify  the  speaker  generally 
occurs  at  the  beginning  of  the  play,  but  it  is  not  confined  to  that 
position.  The  church  plays  furnish  numerous  examples :  "  I 
am  Abel,  who  was  murdered  by  his  brother  " — "  I  am  Isaiah, 
one  of  the  prophets."^  The  shrovetide  plays  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  Hans  Sachs,  and  many  others,  use  this  same  naive 
type :  "I  am  called  Mr.  Tannheuser,  my  name  is  known  far 
and  wide,"  "  I  am  called  Eulenspiegel  and  am  known  through- 
out Germany."-  In  Iphigenie's  opening  speech  Goethe  makes 
use  of  this  type,  yet  with  what  a  world  of  consummate  skill ! 

The  self-characterizing  type  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  previous 
type  and  is  often  added  to  it.  After  the  speaker  has  told  his 
name,  he  goes  on  to  give  a  frank  recital  of  his  characteristics. 
So,  e.  g.,  Eulenspiegel,  after  introducing  himself,  proceeds  to 
discuss  his  innate  knavery  and  to  illustrate  it.  We  find  this 
type  in  classical  and  nineteenth  century  drama,  but  there  it  has 
been  raised  to  a  higher  plane.  The  villain  makes  use  of  it  to 
disclose  his  real  vicioijs  self,  e,  g.,  Franz  Moor  in  "  Die  Rau- 

1  Redentiner  Osterspiel,  ed.  by  T.  Froning,  pp.   133,  134. 

2  Hans  Sachs,  Fastnachtspiele. 


14 

ber,"  Marwood  in  "  Miss  Sara  Sampson,"  Adelheid  in  "  Gotz," 
Zawish  in  "  Konig  Ottokars  Gliick  iind  Ende."  Occasionally, 
however,  a  frank  bit  of  self-characterization  is  met  with ;  Sieg- 
fried indulging  in  it  in  Hebbel's  "  Genoveva."^  A  more  highly 
developed  technic  allows  the  audience  to  draw  its  own  conclu- 
sions as  to  the  actor's  character,  which  displays  itself  both  in 
dialog  and  in  soliloquies  of  an  introspective  nature. 

Descriptive  and  narrative  soliloquies  occur  in  such  numbers 
in  the  early  period  that  they  make  the  plays  fairly  topheavy. 
Nor  are  they  infrequent  in  the  later  plays.  A  good  example 
of  the  soliloquy  which  describes  events  that  are  going  on  simul- 
taneously off  the  stage  occurs  in  "  Emilia  Galotti,"^  when 
Marinelli  stands  at  the  window  and  keeps  the  audience  posted 
as  to  what  is  going  on  outside.  There  is  one  instance  even  in 
Hauptmann,  Rektor  Besenmeyer  repeating  part  of  the  service 
in  the  adjoining  church.^  Ordinary  descriptive  and  narrative 
soliloquies  that  contain  only  a  bald  recital  of  facts  are  not  fre- 
quent, but  almost  every  dramatist  contributes  one  or  more  ex- 
amples. In  "  Minna  von  Barnhelm  "  Werner  delivers  a  solilo- 
quy which  is  filled  with  frankly  narrative  material,^  in  "  Kath- 
chen  von  Heilbronn "  the  Count^  and  the  Emperor**  deliver 
narrative  speeches.  Eugenie's  speech  in  "  Die  natiirliche 
Tochter  "  will  illustrate  the  descriptive  type.^ 

The  soliloquy  that  explains  the  plans  and  intentions  of  the 
speaker  may  be  either  complete  in  itself,  or  it  may  be  merely 
an  appendage  of  another  soliloquy,  usually  of  the  narrative 
type.  Werner's  previously  quoted  speech  ends  in  this  manner, 
as  do  several  soliloquies  in  "  Gotz."^  Franz  Moor's  diabolical 
soliloquy  at  the  beginning  of  Act  2  is  a  splendid  example  of 
how  this  type  can  be  infused  with  dramatic  life,  by  showing  us 
the  mental  processes  which  led  up  to  the  formulation  of  the 

1  Act  I,  Sc.  I,  end. 

2  Act,  3,  Sc.  2.     Also  Lessing :  Nathan,  Act  II,  Sc.   i,  beginning. 

3  Florian  Geyer,  Act  3,  p.  47. 

4  Act  III,  Sc.  6,  entire. 

5  Act  IV,  Sc.  2. 

6  Act  V,  Sc.  2. 

7  Act  V,  Sc.  6. 

8  Act  I,  Sc.  2;  Act  I,  end. 


15 

plan.  Even  the  simple  statement  of  a  plan  is  made  highly- 
effective  when  delivered  under  emotional  stress,  as  in  Ferdi- 
nand's speech  in  "  Kabale  und  Liebe."^ 

The  introspective  soliloquy  is  the  medium  for  expressing  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  of  the  actor.  In  contradistinction  to  its 
shiftless  relative,  the  expositional  soliloquy,  which  it  is  hard  to 
defend,  the  introspective  soliloquy  might  be  termed  the  true 
soliloquy,  as  it  makes  known  to  us  thoughts  and  emotions  that 
would  otherwise  remain  hidden,  "  It  lets  a  tortured  hero  un- 
pack his  heart ;  it  opens  a  window  into  his  soul ;  and  it  gives 
the  spectator  a  pleasure  not  to  be  had  otherwise.  It  allows  us 
to  listen  to  the  communing  of  a  character  with  himself,  as  though 
we  were  not  overhearing  what  he  is  saying."^ 

The  thought  soliloquy  may  be  subdivided  into  reflective, 
moralizing,  and  deliberative.  The  emotional  soliloquy  may  ex- 
press any  one  of  the  emotions  as  anger,  fear,  love,  hate,  joy, 
grief,  despair,  shame,  jealousy,  revenge,  longing,  contempt,  dis- 
gust, irritation. 

In  the  reflective  soliloquy  the  speaker's  thought  is  turned 
back  upon  past  experiences  or  ideas  and  his  attitude  toward 
them  made  clear.  Tell's  famous  soliloquy^  before  he  murders 
Gessler  splendidly  illustrates  this  type.  It  usually  occurs  at 
the  conclusion  of  a  dialog  when  the  actor  who  is  alone  on  the 
stage  reverts  to  the  matters  just  touched  upon  in  the  conver- 
sation and  acquaints  the  audience  with  the  thought  or  thoughts 
uppermost  in  his  mind,  in  other  words,  his  mental  reaction. 
So  Pylades,  after  his  conversation  with  Iphigenie,  Act  2,  Sc.  2 : 
"  She  seemed  greatly  moved  by  the  fate  of  the  royal  house. 
Whoever  she  may  be,  she  has  known  the  king  well,  and  fortu- 
nately for  us,  has  been  sold  to  this  place  from  a  noble  family. 
Be  quiet,  dear  heart,  and  let  us  steer  courageously  toward  the 
star  of  hope  that  shines  for  us."  Lessing's  dramas  show  a 
fondness  for  this  type,  several  examples  occurring  in  almost 
every  play. 

The  moralizing  soliloquy  goes  a  step  further  than  the  reflect- 
ive, as  it  indulges  in  moral  reflections  and  draws  practical  les- 

1  Act  I,  end. 

2  Brander  Matthews,  A  Study  of  the  Drama,  p.   149. 

3  Act  4,  Sc.  3- 


16 

sons  from  past  experiences,  thus  introducing  a  conscious  didac- 
tic strain.  The  early  plays  from  the  serious  dramas  of  Sachs 
through  the  dramas  of  the  reformation  have  a  large  admixture 
of  this  moralizing  element.  Virtue  and  vice,  right  and  wrong, 
are  the  pegs  upon  which  these  little  sermons  are  hung.  In  the 
philosophical  soliloquy  a  wider  field  is  drawn  upon,  abstract 
ideas  rather  than  the  concrete  are  at  the  basis  of  the  musing. 
Faust's  immortal  reveries,  Primislaus  in  "  Libussa,"^  Wallen- 
stein  on  custom,^  Sappho's  beautiful  outbursts,^  Attinghausen 
on  the  passing  of  the  good  old  days,* — these  are  some  of 
the  splendid  examples  that  can  be  found  in  German  literature. 
The  deliberative  soliloquy  considers  and  examines  the  reasons 
for  and  against  a  proposition,  it  estimates  the  weight  and  force 
of  arguments,  it  views  the  probable  consequences  of  an  action 
in  order  to  reach  a  decision.  Nathan's  soliloquy^  just  prior 
to  his  interview  with  Saladin,  and  Posa's  speech®  in  a  similar 
situation  show  this  calm  examination  of  the  pros  and  cons. 
Very  often,  however,  there  is  a  considerable  admixture  of  emo- 
tion in  this  type,  and  in  that  case  the  speaker  reveals  an  inner 
conflict.  Where  thought  is  subordinated  to,  and  outweighed 
by,  feeling  the  soliloquy  will  be  referred  to  as  a  conflict  solilo- 
quy. Odoardo's  soliloquy.  Act  5,  Sc.  4,^  not  only  illustrates  tlie 
subordination  of  thought  to  passion,  but  calls  attention  to  it: 
"  Aber  sieh  da !  Schon  wieder ;  schon  wieder  rennet  der  Zorn 
mit  dem  Verstande  davon  " — and  then  begins  to  examine  the 
possibilities  calmly.  Other  examples  are  Moor's  "  to  be  or  not 
to  be,"®  Fiesco's  soliloquies  in  the  second^  and  third  acts,^" 
Philotas's  outburst  in  the  fourth  scene,^^  the  soliloquy  of  the 
Tempelherr,  Act  5,  Sc.  3.-- 

lAct  III,  Sc.  I. 

2  Wallenstein's  Tod,  Act  I,  Sc.  4. 

3  Act  III,  Sc.   I.     Act  IV,  Sc.   I. 
4Wilhelm  Tell,  Act  II,  Sc.  i. 

5  Act  III,  Sc.  6,  in  Nathan  der  Weise. 

6  Don  Carlos,  Act  III,  Sc.  9. 

7  Emilia  Galotti.- 

8  Die  Rauber,  Act  IV,  Sc.  5. 

9  Act  II,  Sc.  19. 

10  Act  III,  Sc.  2. 

11  Wilhelm  Tell,  Act  II,  Sc.  i. 

12  Nathan  der  Weise. 


17 

As  the  term  "  emotional  soliloquy  "  is  not  subject  to  misin- 
terpretation, and  as  even  one  example  for  each  of  the  numer- 
ous emotions  would  take  up  altogether  too  much  space,  further 
discussion  is  not  necessary. 

It  is  a  generally  accepted  theory  that  the  stage,  architectur- 
ally speaking,  has  exerted  an  unmistakable  influence  upon  the 
drama. ^  In  other  words,  the  form  of  the  stage  of  a  certain 
period  has  to  a  large  extent  determined  the  form  of  the  play. 
The  soliloquy  is  an  example  of  this  influence,  as  the  close  prox- 
imity of  the  spectators  to  the  actors  on  the  stage  of  the  early 
epochs  produced  an  atmosphere  of  intimacy  which  made  the 
expositional  soliloquy  seem  perfectly  in  place.  The  stage  of 
today,  set  apart  from  the  audience  and  supplied  with  remark- 
able scenic  and  lighting  effects,  produces  such  an  air  of  nat- 
uralness, of  vraisemblance,  that  the  expositional  speech  seems 
altogether  out  of  place.  The  lack  of  stage  settings  in  the  earli- 
est period  and  poor  illumination  later  on,  made  explanation  of 
"  business  "  on  the  stage  necessary.  Many  actions  on  the  stage 
would  have  been  unintelligible  to  the  spectators  had  not  the 
actor  explained  what  he  was  doing.  To  illustrate :  in  Sachs's 
Shrovetide  play  "  The  Peasant  in  Purgatory,"  the  farmer,  after 
being  drugged,  is  to  be  thrown  into  a  dark  cell.  Another  actor 
carries  him  on  the  stage,  lays  him  down  and  announces  that  the 
farmer  is  now  in  the  cell.  Immediately  after  that  the  peasant 
according  to  stage  directions  "  clears  his  throat,  gets  up  and 
gropes  about  in  all  directions."  Without  an  explanation  the 
spectators  would  have  difficulty  in  interpreting  his  actions  and 
visualizing  the  scene,  therefore  an  explanatory  soliloquy  is  deliv- 
ered by  the  peasant :  "  Hang  it,  where  am  I  ?  What  a  dark  hole 
this  is !  I  see  and  hear  nothing  here.  I  take  hold  of  noth- 
ing but  four  stone  walls,"  etc.  In  the  last  analysis,  of  course, 
all  soliloquies  of  this  type  are  expositional,  as  they  convey 
information  to  the  audience. 

The  structural  soliloquy,  on  the  other  hand,  is  primarily  a 
mechanical  device  whose  function  it  is  to  prevent  friction  in 
the  wheelwork  of  the  drama,  a  lubricant  as  it  were.     One  vari- 

1  Freytag,  Technik  des   Dramas,   loth  ed.,  p.    i6o. 
3 


18 

ety  of  the  structural  soliloquy  is  referred  to  by  Diisel^  as  the 
Pausenfiilhnonolog,  which  is  employed  to  fill  a  gap  between  the 
exit  of  one  player  and  the  entrance  of  another.  Dr.  Arnold  re- 
fers to  this  as  the  link  soliloquy,  and  adds  two  other  varieties : 
the  entrance  and  exit  soliloquy.  The  entrance  soliloquy  "  pre- 
vents the  simultaneous  appearance  of  A  at  one  door  and  B  at 
the  other.  Even  though  they  were  meeting  by  appointment, 
they  probably  would  not  arrive  at  the  same  instant.  So  A 
comes  on  a  moment  before  B,  and  fills  the  interval  with  some 
remark."^  The  exit  soliloquy  was  used  at  the  end  of  an  act  to 
prevent  the  awkwardness  resulting  from  several  people  leaving 
the  stage  at  the  same  time.  One  accordingly  remained  behind 
and  delivered  a  short  speech.  The  drop  curtain  of  course  made 
these  two  types  unnecessary,  as  it  may  rise  or  fall  on  an  assem- 
bled group.  Both  the  entrance  and  exit  soliloquy  are  infre- 
quent in  German  drama,  as  the  early  playwrights  had  no  com- 
punctions about  allowing  two  or  more  characters  to  enter  and 
leave  simultaneously.  In  Sachs,  e.  g.,  the  stereotyped  stage 
direction  at  the  end  of  the  act  is,  "  they  both  depart,  or  they  all 
depart."  At  the  beginning  of  an  act  we  find  either  an  exposi- 
tional  soliloquy  or  the  simultaneous  entrance  of  two  or  more 
characters.  In  the  plays  of  Heinrich  Julius  there  are  a  few 
examples  of  entrance  and  exit  soliloquy,  e.  g.,  in  "  Buhler  und 
Buhlerin,"  II,  2 ;  II,  5 ;  IV,  7,  but  even  in  these  there  is  an  ad- 
mixture of  the  expositional  element.  The  unwillingness  to 
have  the  stage  empty  or  to  have  a  pause  between  the  exit  of  one 
actor  and  the  entrance  of  another  is  responsible  for  the  link 
soliloquy.  Lessing  was  fond  of  this  device,  especially  in  his 
early  plays,  as  Diisel  points  out.  In  his  plays  the  form  is  rather 
stereotyped :  a  brief  reference  to  what  has  preceded  followed  by 
an  announcement  of  the  approach  of  a  character — ha,  there 
he  is! 

The  link  soliloquy  as  such  is  shortlived.  Lessing  in  his  later 
plays  and  succeeding  dramatists  transformed  the  structural  de- 
vice into  an  integral  part  of  the  play  by  making  it  the  vehicle 

1  Op.    Cit.,    pp.    22-2S,,   42. 

2  Op.  cit.,  p.  81. 


19 

for  reflections  on  the  preceding  scene,  i.   e.,  a  reflective  or 
thought  soliloquy. 

After  the  preceding  classification  and  definitions,  just  a  word 
as  to  the  scope  and  purpose  of  this  investigation.  It  will  be  in 
the  main  a  portrayal  of  the  career  of  a  dramatic  convention, 
the  soliloquy,  as  manifested  in  German  drama  from  its  infancy, 
i.  e.,  the  church  plays,  to  the  present  time.  Although  princi- 
pally a  historical  study,  the  investigation  will  attempt  to  throw 
light  on  the  question  whether  the  recent  drama  has,  or  has  not, 
gained  in  artistic  effectiveness  by  its  gradual  disuse  of  the  so- 
liloquy. Two  questions  then  will  be  answered:  i.  What  role 
does  the  soliloquy  play  in  the  technic  of  the  various  German 
dramatists?  2.  Is  dramatic  technic  improved  by  the  elimina- 
tion of  the  soliloquy? 


CHAPTER   I 
Early  Indigenous  Drama 

I.     Medieval  Church  Plays 

Moralizing  embodied  in  a  dramatic  spectacle  is  less  odious 
and  vastly  more  effective  than  a  sermon  from  a  pulpit.  Real- 
izing this,  the  priests  fostered  the  different  types  of  religious 
drama  which  had  their  origin  in  the  various  church  festivals. 
The  germs  of  the  Easter  play,  e.  g.,  are  found  in  the  Catholic 
ritual  and  consist  of  four  sentences  that  are  chanted  by  two 
semi-choruses  representing  the  three  Marys  who  visit  Christ's 
tomb  and  the  angels  who  tell  them  that  Christ  has  risen.  These 
sentences  form  the  basis  of  the  Latin  Easter  play,  which  in 
turn  gave  rise  to  a  Latin-German  form,  in  which  the  Latin 
speeches  were  translated  into  German  for  the  benefit  of  the 
uneducated  spectators,  and  finally  resulted  in  plays  that  were 
almost  entirely  German.  The  last  mentioned  gave  rise  to  the 
unwieldy  passion  plays,  which  sometimes  lasted  three  to  four 
days  and  required  several  hundred  actors.^ 

The  plays  were  at  first  performed  in  the  church,  but  as  they 
grew  to  such  dimensions  that  the  church  could  no  longer 
accommodate  them,  they  were  taken  to  an  open  air  stage  that 
was  usually  set  up  in  the  market  place.  The  stage^  was  a 
large  wooden  platform,  somewhat  longer  than  it  was  wide, 
which  was  not  raised  far  from  the  ground,  so  that  all  parts  of 
it  were  visible  to  the  standing  or  sitting  spectators.  It  repre- 
sented all  the  places  which  were  necessary  in  the  action,  such 
as  houses,  gardens,  cities,  castles,  etc.  Naturally,  these  are 
only  indicated,  and  that  in  the  crudest  manner,  so  that  even  in 
the  fifteenth  century  the  top  of  a  mountain,  the  roof  of  the 
temple  and  hell  were  all  represented  by  a  barrel.  The  actors 
were  visible  throughout  the  entire  play.    At  the  beginning  of 

1  R.  Froning,  Das  Drama  des  Mittelalters,  in  3  vols.,  Vol.  I,  p.  4. 

2  Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  p.  266  ff. 

20 


21 

the  play,  or  rather  just  previous  to  the  opening,  the  actors 
march  upon  the  stage  in  solemn  procession  and  sit  down  in 
their  appointed  places,  which  they  leave  only  when  the  play 
requires  their  presence  elsewhere. 

The  dramatic  art  was  as  crude  as  the  stage  and  its  settings. 
The  whole  treatment  was  epic  rather  than  dramatic  and  the 
author's  main  concern  was  to  get  the  story  across.  Selection 
of  essentials,  compression  of  the  plot  or  dialog  did  not  trouble 
the  playwrights,  as  they  believed  in  describing  everything  in 
the  greatest  detail. 

In  one  respect  the  author  of  a  church  play  was  decidedly 
better  off  than  later  playwrights :  there  was  no  need  of  intro- 
ductory exposition  as  his  audience  was  familiar  with  biblical 
lore.  The  only  difficulty  he  faced  was  to  let  the  audience  know 
who  the  characters  were  that  appeared  in  the  play.  This  he 
did  in  the  least  taxing  manner  by  having  every  character  about 
whom  there  was  any  doubt  simply  tell  the  spectators  who  he 
was,  in  other  words,  by  employing  the  identifying  soliloquy. 
To  be  sure  this  is  an  elastic  use  of  the  term,  for,  strictly 
speaking,  these  speeches  are  addressed  directly  to  the  audience- 
and  therefore  are  not  soliloquies.  This  also  applies  to  the 
narrative  soliloquies  of  which  there  are  a  few  examples,^  and 
to  those  expressing  the  speaker's  intention.  Illustrations  of 
the  identifying  soliloquy  are  numerous:  "Redentiner  Oster- 
spiel,"  260  ff.,  685  ff. ;  "  Wiener  Passionsspiel,"  65  ff. ;  "  Als- 
felder  Passionspiel,"  7189 ff.;  and  in  every  "  Kramerscene " 
the  different  characters  are  introduced  in  this  manner.  Occa- 
sionally a  bit  of  self-characterization  is  added  as  in  the  "Als- 
f  elder"  play,  1253  ff.  The  Redentin  play  has  two  good  ex- 
amples of  the  intentional  speech:  250 ff.  where  Jesus  tells  of 
his  plan  to  go  to  hell  and  release  Adam  and  Eve  and  the  holy 
fathers,  and  1950  ff.  where  Lucifer  discloses  his  plan  of  catch- 
ing all  sinners  and  bringing  them  to  hell. 

Real  emotional  soliloquies,  however,  do  occur,  although  not 
in  great  numbers.  The  type  in  which  the  speaker  is  so  over- 
come with  emotion  that  he  is  entirely  oblivious  of  his  sur- 
roundings is  on  the  whole  more  frequent  than  the  type  in 

1  Trierer  Osterspiel,  161-5,  Vol.  I,  p.  55.  Alsfelder  Passionsspiel, 
3622-27,  Vol.  3.  P-  701- 


22 

which  the  speaker  is  alone.  Those  who  object  that  a  character 
can  not  be  alone  as  all  the  actors  are  on  the  stage  must 
remember  that  the  action  moves  from  place  to  place  and  that 
any  one  station  with  its  group  of  actors  constitutes  the  stage 
for  the  time  being  and  the  remainder  becomes  non-existent. 
So,  when  Peter  in  the  "  Frankfurter  Passionssspiel,"  after 
denying  that  he  knows  Christ,  leaves  the  house  to  deliver  a 
soliloquy  of  remorse,^  that  part  of  the  platform  for  the  time 
being  becomes  an  empty  stage  and  he  is  alone  on  the  stage. 
The  same  applies  to  Judas,  who  delivers  a  stirring  soliloquy 
of  remorse-  while  going  away  to  commit  suicide.  The  stage 
directions  read :  "  Judas  throws  the  coins  on  the  ground  and  goes 
out  to  hang  himself,  saying  on  the  way  etc."  Neither  one  of 
these  soliloquies  implies  the  least  consciousness  of  the  audience 
and  are  accordingly  real  soliloquies.  In  the  "Alsfelder  Pas- 
sionsspiel "  Peter  is  also  alone  when  delivering  his  soliloquy 
of  remorse,^  as  the  stage  directions  read :  "  Peter  leaves  weep- 
ing bitterly  and  withdraws  from  Christ  and  says."  The  speech, 
however,  is  not  as  effective  as  in  the  Frankfurt  play.  Judas's 
speech  of  remorse*  in  the  Alsfeld  play  on  the  other  hand  is 
weakened  by  being  partly  addressed  to  the  audience :  "  O 
friends,  now  hear  my  complaint,  which  I  am  about  to  indulge 
in !  I  was  one  of  the  twelve  apostles  ;  I  have  betrayed  my  lord 
and  master  and  sold  him  to  the  Jews !  Therefore  I  shall  now 
commit  suicide,"* — then  he  begins  his  lament  as  follows :  "  Oh 
God  that  I  was  ever  born,"  etc.  But  for  the  introduction  it 
would  be  a  true  soliloquy.  Every  "  Marienklage  "  illustrates 
the  type  of  emotional  soliloquy,  which  shows  the  speaker  en- 
tirely oblivious  to  his  surroundings.  Other  examples  are  Mary 
Magdalen's  soliloquies  of  remorse  and  regret  in  the  Frankfurt^ 
and  Alsfeld  plays,^  Lucifer's  soliloquy  of  anxiety'^  at  Satan's 
long  absence  in  the  Redentin  play,  and  his  outburst  of  remorse^ 
Plater  in  the  same  play. 

i26i4flf. 

2  2650  if. 

3  3S94ff- 

4  3622  a. 

5io76ff. 

6  1994  ff. 

7  1691  fif. 

8  1928  ff. 


23 

Grief,  regret  and  remorse  are  the  emotions  most  often  repre- 
sented in  the  soHloquies.  There  is  one  splendid  example  of 
the  gloating  villain  in  the  Alsfeld  play/  where  Satan,  after 
causing  the  death  of  the  Baptist,  steps  forth  and  shouts  :  "  Oho, 
oho !  I  have  seen  that  my  vvrish  has  been  carried  out :  the  man 
has  been  murdered  though  innocent."  The  thought  soliloquy 
does  not  occur  independently,  but  occasionally  as  a  part  of 
another  type.  In  one  of  Lucifer's  soliloquies  of  remorse  this 
bit  of  moralizing  is  incorporated:  "This  is  the  result  of  pride! 
Pride  is  the  beginning  of  all  sin,  pride  has  lowered  us  devils 
to  the  abyss."-  At  rare  intervals  there  is  also  a  reflective  bit 
very  much  in  the  nature  of  an  aside,  e.  g.,  in  the  Frankfurt 
play  after  Christ  has  spoken  a  few  lines  of  Latin,  Lieberman 
Rabi  says :  "  We  are  all  surprised  that  Christ  can  speak  Latin, 
although  he  never  attended  school !  It  strikes  me  that  that  is 
not  proper."^ 

The  soliloquy  which  explains  "business"  or  actions  on  the 
stage  is  not  pressed  into  service  very  often,  as  most  of  the 
actions  are  perfectly  intelligible  to  the  spectators.  Additional 
precautions  are  taken  by  having  a  person  not  in  the  play  inter- 
rupt it  occasionally  and  tell  the  audience  just  what  scene  will 
be  presented  next,  together  with  its  contents,  e.  g.,  Augustinus 
in  the  Frankfurt  play.  In  unusual  cases  explanation  becomes 
necessary,  as  when  Lucifer  looks  for  Christ's  soul  after  the 
death  on  the  cross,*  and  when  the  earth  quakes  after  Christ's 
death.'  The  peculiar  part  of  the  latter  description  is  that  it 
begins  in  the  present  tense  and  after  one  sentence  continues  in 
the  past  tense  as  though  the  speaker  were  quoting  some  one  else. 

2.  Shrovetide  Plays  of  the  15th  Century^ 
German  secular  drama  has  its  origin  in  the  carnival  mum- 
meries which  were  a  popular  form  of  amusement  during  the 

1 1040  ff. 

2  Redentin  play,  1946  ff- 
8  8soff. 
*4iSi  ff- 
54156  ff. 

6  Fastnachtspiele  aus  dem  15.  Jahrhundert,  a  collection  of  121  plays  ed. 
by  Dr.   Keller,  Stuttgart,   1853. 


24 

few  days  before  Lent  with  its  long  period  of  enforced  sobriety. 
Throngs  of  masked  citizens  paraded  through  the  cities  and 
entered  private  residences,  inns  and  bar-rooms,  where  they 
sought  to  evoke  laughter  by  mimicking  certain  types  that  em- 
bodied ludicrous  characteristics.  Mimicry  was  soon  supple- 
mented by  the  spoken  word,  and  the  boorish  peasant,  the  arro- 
gant knight,  the  immoral  priest  and  others  are  held  up  to  ridi- 
cule in  satiric  speeches.  The  crudest  type  consists  of  a  series 
of  identifying  and  self -characterizing  speeches.  The  masked 
actors  enter  together,  each  delivers  a  self-characterizing  speech 
and  they  depart  after  being  dined  and  wined.  Then  there  are 
court  scenes  in  which  cases  of  every  description  are  tried  in  a 
farcical  manner,  usually  complaints  against  unfaithful  hus- 
bands, which,  however,  did  not  result  in  divorces.  Doctor 
scenes  are  also  quite  common  in  which  a  quack,  after  boasting 
of  his  skill  and  his  marvellous  cures,  gives  the  patient  some 
ludicrous  prescription.  Everyday  life  furnishes  most  of  the 
themes  but  serious  matters  dealing  with  religious  and  social 
conditions  are  not  tabooed.  In  fact  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to 
tell  where  the  religious  play  ends  and  the  carnival  play  begins, 
as  the  latter  has  encroached  so  far  upon  the  domain  of  the 
form'er.i 

Very  few  of  the  shrovetide  plays  were  performed  on  the 
stage,  or  rather  platform,  such  as  was  used  for  church  plays. 
Froning  states  that  the  more  serious  plays  such  as  Nos.  iii 
and  1 19  in  Keller  required  a  stage.  All  others  got  along  with- 
out stage  or  scenery,  as  they  were  repeated  in  places  where 
such  things  were  out  of  the  question.  The  prolog  of  the  first 
play  in  Keller  throws  an  interesting  light  upon  the  average 
place  of  performance  and  the  simple  preparations. 

Real  soHloquies  do  not  occur  in  these  plays,  although  we 
might  term  the  identifying,  self-characterizing,  narrative  and 
descriptive  speeches  crude  expositional  soHloquies.  Some  of 
the  plays  in  which  there  is  a  crude  plot  are  developed  entirely 
by  means  of  dialog:  Nos.  22,  37,  iii.  The  last  named  deals 
with  the  legend  of  Pope  Joan  and  is  a  good  example  of  the 

1  Froning,  Vol.  3,  pp.  955  ff-,'  E.  Devrient,  Geschichte  der  deutschen 
Schauspielkunst,  1848,  Vol.  I,  p.  96  ff. 


25 

blending  of  religious  and  secular  drama.  Gottsched  calls  it 
"  das  alteste  tragische  gedruckte  deutsche  Originalstiick."^  In 
No.  57,  entitled  "  Ain  guot  Vasnachtspil "  there  are  three  asides 
in  the  dialog,  possibly  the  earliest  use  of  this  device. 

3.  Drama  of  the  Reformation 

Almost  everywhere  the  medieval  church  drama  was  put  to 
utter  rout  by  the  Reformation,  first  because  the  Protestants 
objected  to  it  as  a  Catholic  institution,  and  secondly  because 
the  times  were  too  stormy  to  permit  people  to  sit  calmly  and 
enjoy  the  epic  meanderings  of  the  church  plays.  The  drama 
that  took  its  place  was  used  principally  as  a  weapon  of  attack 
and  defense,  especially  by  the  Protestants,  against  religious 
adversaries.  Epic  treatment  and  endless  sermonizing  coupled 
with  the  exposition  of  the  Lutheran  doctrine  characterize  these 
plays.  The  stage  and  the  scenery  was  crude  and  virtually  that 
of  the  church  plays,  and  the  plays  were  given  in  churches, 
schools  and  public  squares. 

Some  of  the  plays,  such  as  "  Die  Totenfresser  "^  by  Gengen- 
bach,  required  no  stage  or  setting  and  were  probably  performed 
on  the  street.  Gengenbach  occupied  a  unique  position  in  the 
drama  of  this  period,  as  he  began  in  the  Catholic  camp  and 
ended  as  a  rabid  champion  of  the  Reformation.  His  "Zehn 
Alter  dieser  Welt"^  is  permeated  by  the  Catholic  doctrine, 
while  the  "  Totenfresser  "  is  a  bitter  attack  upon  the  practice  of 
giving  masses  for  the  souls  of  the  departed.  The  gist  of  the 
latter  is  that  the  only  ones  that  benefit  by  these  masses  are  the 
pope  and  the  clergy,  who  are  able  to  live  in  luxurious  ease  from 
the  proceeds.  The  play  is  utterly  undramatic  and  is  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes  a  series  of  expositional  soliloquies  which  set 
forth  the  views  of  the  adherents  and  opponents  of  the  Catholic 
church. 

"  Der  Ablasskramer  "*  is  not  much  more  dramatic  and  con- 

1  Vol.  II,  p.  82,  quoted  by  Keller. 

2  Das  Drama  der  Reformationszeit,  ed.  by  R.  Froning,  Stuttgart,  pp. 
3-10,  date  1525. 

3  In  Keller:    Fastnachtspiele  des  15.  Jahrhunderts. 
*  Froning,  p.  13  ff.,  date,  1525. 


26 

sists  of  a  series  of  denunciations  hurled  at  the  salesman  by 
those  whom  he  has  formerly  duped.  Oratorical  attacks  are 
supplemented  by  physical  assaults  and  the  vender  is  compelled 
to  admit  all  his  shameful  practices.  A  reflective  soliloquy  near 
the  end  of  the  play  shows  him  a  sadder  but  wiser  man. 

"Der  verlorene  Sohn"^  by  Waldis  is  the  oldest  Protestant 
drama  based  upon  a  biblical  theme  and  paved  the  way  for  a 
host  of  imitations,  the  prodigal  son  soon  becoming  a  favorite 
theme  with  dramatists.  Besides  being  a  "  Tendenzdrama  "  it 
has  a  special  point  of  interest  in  the  fact  that  it  is  the  first 
German  drama  that  shows  influences  of  the  Roman  drama  by 
the  division  into  acts,  the  introduction  of  riotous  scenes  with 
the  meretrices  and  the  deceptive  innkeeper.  The  introductory 
expositional  soliloquy  is  addressed  to  the  audience,  the  other 
expositional  speeches  avoid  this  crudity.  Several  asides  by  the 
innkeeper  as  he  plucks  the  prodigal  possibly  show  Latin  influ- 
ence. There  is  but  one  emotional  soliloquy,  an  outburst  of 
sorrowful  regret  by  the  prodigal  after  he  has  been  plucked. 

"  Susanna  "^  by  Rebhuhn  is  the  earliest  German  play  that 
shows  "  a  conscious  striving  for  artistic  effects  of  poetic  form 
and  dramatic  construction."^  The  play  is  divided  into  five  acts 
and  has  a  prolog,  epilog  and  chorus  at  the  end  of  the  first  four 
acts.  Of  all  the  Susanna  plays  this  is  the  best  and  the  most 
effective,  as  it  is  the  simplest.  A  long  expositional  soliloquy 
which  reveals  the  villainy  of  a  rich  rascal  and  the  corruptness 
of  the  judges  is  interesting,  as  it  is  introduced  solely  to  charac- 
terize the  venality  of  the  bench.  On  the  whole  then  the  technic 
of  the  soliloquy  in  these  plays  is  on  the  same  level  as  in  the 
church  plays. 

4.  Hans  Sachs 

The  early  shrovetide  plays  of  Sachs  were  undoubtedly  pre- 
sented in  inns  and  private  homes,  as  were  those  of  the  15th 
century,  and  probably  the  same  method  of  presentation  pre- 
vailed. The  later  plays  may  possibly  have  been  presented  on 
the  stage  used  for  the  larger  plays,  i.  e.,  the  so-called  comedies 

1  Froning,  p.  31  ff.,  date  1527. 

2  Froning,  p.  loi  ff.,  date  1536. 

3  Calvin  Thomas,  German  Literature,  p.  158. 


27 

and  tragedies.  The  latter  were  performed  for  the  most  part  in 
churches,  the  regular  rendezvous  of  the  mastersingers,  on  crude 
stages  erected  for  this  purpose.^  But  as  early  as  1550  the 
mastersingers  built  the  first  German  theater  in  Niirnberg  for 
the  performance  of  larger  plays,  probably  realizing  the  inap- 
propriateness  of  giving  them  in  churches.^  Or  it  is  possible 
that  the  clergy  strenuously  objected  to  such  performances  in 
the  churches. 

The  form  of  the  stage  of  this  period  is  largely  a  matter  of 
conjecture,  although  stage  directions  in  the  plays  throw  a  little 
light  upon  the  subject.  Very  likely  then  the  stage  consisted 
of  a  platform  raised  about  three  feet  from  the  ground  and  open 
to  the  spectators  on  three  sides.  A  broad  partition  about  six 
feet  high  ran  across  the  rear  of  the  stage  so  as  to  form  a 
dressing  room  and  wings  for  the  actors.  There  may  have  been 
a  real  door  or  merely  a  curtain  through  which  the  actors 
entered  the  stage  from  this  enclosed  space.  The  top  of  this 
subdivision  was  open  so  that  the  smoke  of  a  conflagration  off 
the  stage  was  visible  and  the  tumult  of  a  battle  plainly  audible 
to  the  spectators ;  the  sides,  however,  were  probably  covered  so 
that  changes  in  costume  would  not  be  seen.^  In  front  of  this 
main  stage  there  was  sometimes  a  lower  stage,  especially  in  the 
theaters  upon  which  the  mastersingers  may  have  sung  the 
entr'acte  music. ^  There  was  no  scenery  or  stage-setting  of  any 
sort,  no  curtain  to  mark  the  beginning  or  end  of  an  act;  the 
characters  came  out  upon  the  stage  at  the  beginning  of  an  act 
and  left  it  at  the  conclusion  of  the  act. 

Considering  the  simplicity  of  the  stage  and  the  ease  with 
which  one  could  be  erected,  it  is  supposable  that  the  wealthy 
citizens  often  entertained  their  friends  by  giving  theatricals  in 
their  homes. 

The  stereotyped  form  with  which  the  comedies  and  tragedies 
begin  is  a  prolog  by  the  "  ernholdt "  or  herald,  who  gives  the 
audience  a  brief  synopsis  of  the  play  followed  by  an  introduc- 
tory expositional  soliloquy.     The  plays  themselves  are  simply 

1  Anton  Clock,  Die  Biihne  des  Hans  Sachs,  Passau,  1903. 

2  E.  Devrient,  Gcschichte  der  deutschen  Schauspielkunst,  Vol.  I,  p. 
ii3ff. 


stories  cast  in  the  dialog  form ;  getting  the  story  across  is  the 
main  object  of  the  author,  who  is  not  concerned  with  the 
struggle  of  one  will  against  another,  with  the  inner  processes 
that  give  rise  to  a  decision,  with  the  soul-state  resulting  from 
a  given  act.  As  Freytag  puts  it :  "  Nicht  die  Darstellung  einer 
Begebenheit  an  sich,  sondern  ihrer  Einwirkung  auf  die  Men- 
schenseele  ist  Aufgabe  der  dramatischen  Kunst."^  The  plays 
regularly  conclude  with  a  moralizing  sermon  which  is  also 
delivered  by  the  herald. 

Almost  half  of  the  shrovetide  plays  have  neither  prolog  or 
epilog,  and  in  most  of  the  others  the  prolog  has  been  reduced 
to  a  mere  formula  of  greeting,  generally :  "  ein  guten  abent  ir 
erbarn  lent."  In  the  plays  that  have  a  prolog  a  dialog  opening 
is  usually  employed.  Occasionally,  especially  in  the  later  plays, 
an  expositional  soliloquy  follows  the  prolog  in  the  manner  of 
the  tragedies  and  comedies.-  When  Sachs  discards  the  more 
or  less  stereotyped  prolog  he  decidedly  favors  the  soliloquy  as 
the  vehicle  for  attack.  In  more  than  forty  cases  soliloquies  are 
used,  whereas  a  dialog  opening  occurs  in  only  thirteen  of  the 
plays,  notably  in  his  later  productions.^ 

In  his  later  comedies  and  tragedies  there  is  also  a  growing 
tendency  to  discard  the  opening  soliloquy  and  employ  dialog. 
In  eight  comedies  written  between  1556  and  1560  four  have  the 
dialog  opening;  in  eight  tragedies  of  the  same  period  seven 
begin  with  dialog. 

The  introductory  expositional  soliloquies  are  generally 
frankly  addressed  to  the  audience,  but  there  are  numerous  cases 
where  the  character  is  required  by  the  stage  directions  to  talk 
to  himself  or  herself — "  red  mit  im  selb,"  or  "  red  mit  ir  selb." 
The  speech  itself  in  this  case  is  usually  cast  in  the  same  mold 
as  those  addressed  to  the  audience  and  is  in  no  sense  a  talking 
to  one's  self.  But  there  are  instances  where  this  expositional 
speech  is  raised  to  a  higher  artistic  level  by  making  it  an  apos- 
trophe to  Fortune,  as  in  "  Die  schon  Marina  " — "  Great  praise 
and  thanks  to  thee,  O  Fortune!     How  richly  and  abundantly 

1  G.  Freytag,  Die  Technik  des  Dramas,  Leipzig,  1905,  p.  18. 

2  Fastnachtspiele,  Nos.  68,  70,  71,  73. 

3  Ibid.,  Nos.  20,  25,  27,  35,  36,  43,  50,  59,  60,  61,  62,  80,  83. 


29 

thou  hast  provided  me  with  everything  so  that  no  sorrow  can 
approach  me!"  etc.  To  be  sure,  the  speech  gradually  sinks  to 
the  level  of  frank  exposition,  but  the  attempt  to  get  away  from 
the  direct  address  to  the  audience  is  praiseworthy.  In  "  Fortu- 
natus  "  we  find  an  apostrophe  to  God  in  the  opening  soliloquy : 
"  Oh  God  in  heaven  to  thee  I  lament  the  fact  that  I  spent  my 
)'Oung  days  so  foolishly,"  etc.  In  "  Der  teuffel  mit  dem  kauff- 
mann  "the  apostrophe  to  Fortune  is  carried  through  to  the 
end  of  the  speech,  thus  producing  quite  an  artistic  effect.  An 
emotional  admixture  is  occasionally  used  to  good  effect  and 
absolves  the  soliloquy  from  the  charge  that  it  is  addressed  to 
the  audience,  e.  g.,  in  "  Das  boss  weyb  mit  den  worten  etc.  gut 
zu  machen  "  and  in  "  Die  vier  ungliickhafften  liebhabenden  per- 
sonen."  In  the  former  the  henpecked  husband  says :  "  Alas, 
poor  wretched  man  that  I  am,  what  shall  I  do  ?  That  which  is 
given  as  a  comfort  to  men  troubles  my  life  most.  Oh!  Oh! 
Oh !  Oh !  alas !  alas !  wherever  I  stand  and  go  I  have  nothing 
but  trouble  which  only  the  grave  can  free  me  from !" 

The  soliloquy  used  for  identification,  a  crude  makeshift 
which  occurs  so  often  in  the  church  plays  and  in  the  shrove- 
tide  plays  of  the  15th  century,  is  also  employed  by  Sachs.  Nor 
is  its  use  conffned  to  the  early  plays  ;  on  the  contrary,  it  crops  to 
the  surface  continually.  In  the  earliest  of  the  shrovetide  plays, 
dated  15 17,  entitled  "Das  hoffgsindt  Veneris"  every  character 
introduced  himself  in  this  manner : 

"  Herr  Donheuser  bin  ich  genandt, 
Mein  nam  der  ist  gar  weit  erkandt, 
Aus  Frankenlandt  was  ich  geborn,"  etc. 

As  late  as  1553  he  used  this  type  in  "  Der  Eulenspiegel  mit  den 
blinden,"  where  Eulenspiegel  introduces  himself  as  follows : 

"  Eulenspiegel  bin  ich  genandt,"  etc. 

Expositional  soliloquies  of  the  narrative,  descriptive,  self- 
characterizing  and  intentional  type  occur  on  practically  every 
page.  Whenever  the  author  feels  that  there  is  the  least  doubt 
about  the  story  being  absolutely  clear  to  the  audience,  a  char- 
acter informs  the  spectators  of  his  plans  and  intentions  or  tells 


30 

them  of  some  event  that  could  not  be  presented  on  the  stage. 
By  means  of  soliloquies  the  author  answers  any  possible  ques- 
tions as  to  the  fate  or  experiences  of  a  given  character  even 
before  they  arise. 

The  entire  absence  of  scenery  frequently  makes  the  explana- 
tory soliloquy  necessary,  so  that  the  audience  may  knowr  what 
the  character  is  doing  on  the  stage,  and  where  he  is  located.  So 
in  "  Fortunatus  "  the  character  states  that  he  is  now  in  a  wild 
forest  (Act  2)  or  in  London  (Act  5)  ;  in  "  Der  hornen  Seifrit " 
the  hero  tells  us  that  he  is  confronted  by  a  high  mountain  (Act 
3),  etc.  In  "Der  baur  in  dem  fegfeur"  the  peasant  gropes 
blindly  about  the  stage  and  explains  his  actions  by  telling  the 
audience  that  he  is  confined  in  a  dark  cell. 

As  all  of  the  author's  plays  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
Shrovetide  plays  serve  a  moral  purpose,  as  the  epilogs  of  the 
comedies  and  tragedies  and  the  concluding  speeches  of  the 
Shrovetide  plays  show,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  bits  of  moral- 
izing in  some  of  the  soliloquies.  One  example  taken  from 
"  Die  schon  Marina  "  will  illustrate  the  type :  "  Unchastity  is 
the  most  injurious  of  all  vices.  Whoever  tries  it  is  allured  by 
it ;  whoever  yields  to  it  is  choked  by  it ;  it  weakens  the  under- 
standing and  shortens  life,  hurts  one's  reputation,  consumes 
honor  and  wealth,"  etc.  Other  types  of  the  thought  soliloquy 
do  not  occur.  Emotional  soliloquies,  however,  especially  those 
expressing  the  more  common  emotions  such  as  grief,  sorrow, 
rage,  fear,  regret,  joy,  etc.,  are  met  with  very  frequently. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Sachs  gave  some  thought  to  the 
performance  of  his  plays,  as  occasional  stage  directions  will 
show.  To  be  sure  they  are  for  the  most  part  rather  crude  and 
one  gesture  is  made  to  do  service  for  differing  emotions,  re- 
minding one  forcibly  of  the  acting  of  some  of  the  present  oper- 
atic stars.  Soliloquies  are  usually  without  stage  directions 
other  than  the  stereotyped  form :  "  enters  and  speaks,"  or 
"  enters  and  speaks  to  him — or  herself."  But  now  and  then  the 
character  is  asked  to  clap  the  hands  together  above  the  head  to 
express  sorrow  or  grief  or  anger  or  what  not.  In  Krimhilt's 
soliloquy  at  the  end  of  "Seifrit"  the  author  is  liberal  with 
stage  directions :  "  She  takes  the  twigs  off  of  the  corpse  and 


31 

beats  her  hands  above  her  head  " ;  then,  a  little  later,  "  she  sinks 
upon  him,  embraces  and  kisses  him  " ;  and  later,  "  she  sees  the 
dagger,  picks  it  up,  looks  at  it,  and  says."  At  the  end  of  the 
speech  she  leaves  "  sadly."  The  attempt  to  make  the  perform- 
ance a  little  realistic  certainly  redounds  to  the  credit  of  the 
author. 

5.  Hercog  Heinrich  Julius  von  Braunschweig 

English  drama,  even  in  the  crude  form  in  which  it  was  intro- 
duced to  the  Germans  by  the  "  Englische  Komodianten,"  ex- 
erted a  great  influence  upon  German  drama,  especially  upon 
Duke  Heinrich's  and  Jakob  Ayrer's  plays.  The  Duke  and 
Landgrave  Maurice  of  Hessia  each  had  a  troop  of  English 
players  and  each  was  stimulated  to  the  point  of  writing  plays 
for  these  actors.  Maurice,  whose  plays  have  been  lost,  even 
built  a  theater  that  was  modeled  after  the  type  then  in  vogue  in 
England.  The  Duke's  plays  show  that  he  also  adopted  the 
English  stage,  whose  chief  characteristics  were  a  balcony  above 
the  rear  of  the  stage  and  the  curtaining  off  of  the  space  under 
the  balcony,  so  that  it  could  be  employed  when  a  change  in  the 
scene  was  desired.^  More  attention  had  been  given  to  the  art 
of  acting  in  England  than  in  Germany,  and  the  plays  of  the 
English  comedians  are  filled  with  elaborate  stage-directions 
whose  aim  it  was  to  secure  great  realism  in  presentation,  espe- 
cially when  grief,  pain  and  despair  were  to  be  depicted.  All  of 
the  Duke's  plays  show  his  indebtedness  in  this  respect,  as  they 
are  abundantly  supplied  with  stage-directions.  English  influ- 
ence is  also  discernible  in  the  use  of  prose,  the  introduction  of 
instrumental  music,  songs  and  dances,  and  lastly  in  the  adoption 
of  the  clown. 

The  soliloquies  in  the  plays  of  the  English  comedians  are 
very  crude. ^  The  characters  often  introduce  themselves  and 
speak  at  length  about  their  plans  and  intentions.  Sometimes 
these  soliloquies  are  only  indicated,  e.  g.,  in  "  Der  Konig  von 
Schottland,"  Act  IV.  The  stage  directions  read:  "The  king 
comes  out  and  tells  how  he  is  going  to  get  to  the  place  where  Run- 
cifax  lives,  whom  he  intends  to  ask  which  of  his  two  daughters 

1  W.  Creizenach,  Die  Schauspiele  der  englischen  Komodianten,  Vol.  23, 
D.N.L.,  p.  92. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  85. 


32 

he  is  to  get."  The  villains  expose  their  dark  designs  in  solilo- 
quy and  the  heroes  announce  both  plans  and  accomplished  facts, 
and  sometimes  give  reports  of  actions  that  the  audience  has 
already  witnessed.  The  moralizing  soliloquy  is  frequently  em- 
ployed, but  never  at  great  length  for  fear  of  tiring  the  public. 
Ranting  soliloquies  in  which  passion  was  torn  to  tatters  were 
also  a  favorite  device. 

What  did  the  Duke  adopt  from  this  technic  of  the  solilo- 
quy? To  secure  realistic  acting  he  supplied  the  soliloquies 
with  full  stage-directions  in  the  manner  of  the  English  come- 
dians. Then  too  he  occasionally  uses  the  ranting  soliloquy, 
which  in  those  days  must  have  exerted  a  powerful  influence 
upon  the  spectators.  Good  examples  occur  in  the  tragedy 
"Von  einem  ungerathenen  Sohn,"  VI,  end,  where  Nero  is 
asked  to  accompany  his  ranting  with  such  actions  as :  "  griin- 
selt,  winselt,  kriimmet  und  windet  sich,  und  stellet  sich  greulich 
an,  briillet  wie  ein  Ochs,  fallet  zu  der  Erden,  kratzet  mit 
Handen  und  Fiissen  von  sich,  stehet  wieder  auf  und  lauft  her- 
umb,  als  wenn  er  gar  von  Sinnen  ware."^  Another  long  speech 
of  this  type  is  found  in  the  last  act  of  "  Buhler  und  Buhlerin," 
part  of  which  reads:  "  Pfui  dich,  du  stinkende  Hoffart,  pfui, 
du  heillose  und  vergangliche  Schminke !  O  wehe,  o  wehe,  ach 
was  leide  ich  Angst  und  Schmerz  in  meinem  Herzen!  O  ihr 
Berge,  fallet  iiber  mich  und  bedecket  mich !  Ach,  dass  die 
Erde  sich  aufthate  und  mich  verschliinge."^ 

For  the  most  part  the  expositional  soliloquies  are  crude,  and 
often,  as  in  the  case  of  the  clown,  directly  addressed  to  the 
audience.  Sometimes  a  moralizing^  or  reflective  bit  and  in  one 
case  a  lyric  prelude*  raises  the  soliloquy  to  a  slightly  higher 
plane.  The  clown's  soliloquies  are  either  baldly  expositional 
or  reflective.  In  the  latter  he  usually  indulges  in  sardonic 
laughter^  at  the  stupidity  or  the  discomfiture  of  his  master  and 
frequently  takes  the  audience  into  his  confidence  and  begs  them 
not  to  betray  him. 

1  Julius  Tittmann,  Die  Schauspiele  des  Herzog  Heinrich  Julius,  Leip- 
zig, 1880,  p.  233. 

2  Op.  cit.,  p.  73. 

3  0/>.  cit.,  p.  3.     Susanna,  p.   111-112,  Von  einem  Edelmann. 
*0p.  cit.,  pp.  35-6;  Von  einem  Buhler. 

B  Op.  cit.,  pp.  64,  90,  96,  107,  etc. 


6.  Jakob  Ayrer 

Two  tendencies  characterize  Ayrer's  work:  an  endeavor  to 
remain  faithful  to  the  tradition  of  Sachs's  dramatic  art,  together 
with  an  attempt  to  acclimate  the  histrionic  art  of  the  EngUsh 
comedians  on  the  German  stage.  The  result  of  this  amalga- 
mation produced  no  development  in  technic  but  rather  a  degen- 
eration, as  the  plays  show  greater  fondness  for  epic  treatment 
than  those  of  Sachs.  To  make  up  for  the  lack  of  interest  re- 
sulting from  this  undramatic  form  he  introduced  elaborate 
stage  processions,  court  scenes,  battles  and  devil-scenes  and 
reaches  a  higher  plane  in  stage-effects,  especially  of  the  lurid 
melodramatic  type.  According  to  Robertson^  the  plays  written 
between  1593  and  1598  show  no  English  influence,  w^hereas 
those  between  1598  and  1605  reveal  the  influence  of  the  English 
comedians.  His  stage  probably  consisted  of  a  lower  front 
stage  and  a  raised  stage  or  bridge,  under  the  middle  of  which 
there  was  an  opening  which  might  be  used  for  a  cave  or  an 
additional  place  of  entrance  and  exit  or  what  not.^  Rather  full 
stage-directions,  the  use  of  the  clown  as  a  character  in  the 
plays,  and  instrumental  music,  all  show  English  influence. 

The  expositional  soliloquy  is  pressed  into  service  on  all  pos- 
sible occasions  to  acquaint  the  audience  with  the  past,  present 
and  future,  and  little  effort  is  made  to  raise  them  above  the 
baldly  instructive  plane  by  giving  them  a  reflective  or  emotional 
admixture.  The  moralizing  element  is  usually  confined  to 
short  sententious  bits,  although  longer  speeches  do  occur.^ 
Emotional  soliloquies  are  for  the  most  part  outbursts  of  grief 
and  despair.  These  outbursts  as  a  rule  are  rather  tame  affairs 
and  seldom  tear  passion  to  tatters.*  On  the  whole  then  Ayrer's 
soliloquies  are  a  little  cruder  than  those  of  Sachs. 

1  J.  G.  Robertson,  Zur  Kritik  Jakob  Ayres  mit  besonderer  Riicksicht 
auf  sein  Verhaltniss  zu  Hans  Sachs  und  den  englischen  Komodianten, 
Leipzig,  1892. 

2  Ibid. 

3  Comedia  von  der  schonen  Sidea,  II,  beg.  A.  von  Keller's  ed. 

4  Keller,  Vol.  II,  p.  787. 


CHAPTER  II 
The  Pseudo-Classic  Drama 

I.  Gryphius 

There  was  a  complete  break  with  the  old  dramatic  tradition 
in  the  17th  century  when  Andreas  Gryphius,  the  originator  of 
the  German  artistic  drama,  introduced  the  Renaissance  tradi- 
tion into  German  drama.  Nothing  in  modern  drama  is  based 
on  medieval  or  i6th  century  drama.  It  really  has  its  origin  in 
the  "Kunstdrama"  of  Gryphius,  which  is  patterned  after 
foreign  models.  The  Silesian's  model  however  was  not  so 
much  Seneca  as  Vondel,  the  great  Dutch  dramatist,  who  was 
the  leading  exponent  of  the  Renaissance  tradition  in  Holland. 

Seneca's  style  exerted  an  immeasurably  greater  influence 
upon  Gryphius  than  his  technic.  "  The  technic  of  the  two  play- 
wrights shows  few  points  of  contact,"^  says  Stachel.  How  do 
the  two  compare  in  the  use  of  the  soliloquy?  Seneca,  with  one 
or  two  exceptions,  invariably  begins  with  an  expositional  solilo- 
quy which  is  followed  by  a  commenting  chorus.  Gr>'phius  begins 
two  of  his  five  tragedies  with  a  dialog,  viz.,  "  Leo  Armenius  " 
and  "  Cardenio  und  Celinde."  In  the  second  tragedy  "  Cath- 
erine von  Georgien,"  after  a  prolog  by  Eternity  in  the  style  of 
the  Church  play  prologs,  the  dialog  form  is  employed.  In 
"  Carolus  Stuardus  "  and  "  Papinianus  "  there  are  introductory 
expositional  soliloquies  but  neither  is  followed  by  a  chorus. 
In  Seneca's  plays  the  soliloquy  forms  a  large  component  part, 
especially  in  "  Medea,"  which  has  more  soliloquy  than  dialog. 
The  Roman  poet  shows  a  decided  fondness  for  identifying 
soliloquies,  a  character  often  introducing  himself  to  the  audi- 
ence before  he  begins  a  conversation.  Another  striking  char- 
acteristic of  his  soliloquies  is  their  position  at  the  beginning  of 
an  act. 

1  Paul  Stachel,  Seneca  und  das  deutsche  Renaissance-Drama,  Berlin, 
1907,  p.  270. 

34 


35 

In  Gryphius  the  soliloquy  does  not  play  so  prominent  a  role. 
Although  the  length  of  the  soliloquies  leaves  nothing  to  be  de- 
sired, they  are  not  so  frequent,  there  are  none  of  the  identify- 
ing type,  and  there  is  no  particular  fondness  shown  for  the 
beginning  of  an  act. 

Gryphius  was  endowed  with  a  most  melancholy  temperament 
and  the  misfortunes  that  befell  him  and  his  country  served  to 
heighten  this  innate  gloom.  His  five  tragedies  are  permeated 
with  pessimism  as  a  result  of  his  despairing  outlook  upon  life. 
"  All  is  vanity,"  or  "  sic  transit  gloria  mundi "  is  in  brief  the 
theme  of  his  plays.  His  heroes  are  characterized  by  steadfast- 
ness in  enduring  adversity  rather  than  by  positive  action.  The 
bombast  and  ranting,  so  characteristic  of  the  plays,  as  well  as 
the  author's  dejection  and  pessimism  are  faithfully  mirrored  in 
the  soliloquies. 

The  initial  expositional  soliloquy  in  "  Carolus  Stuardus  "  is 
far  from  being  baldly  instructive.  Several  apostrophes,  ques- 
tions and  answers,  and  an  admixture  of  anger  and  defiance, 
skillfully  place  the  expositional  matter  into  the  background. 
The  author's  sermonizing  instinct  unfortunately  got  the  better 
of  him,  and  the  fine  frenzy  of  the  closet  dramatist  is  revealed; 
in  the  line :  "  Bebt,  die  ihr  herrscht  und  schafift !  bebt  ob  dem; 
Trauerspiel ! "  Once  more,  later  in  the  play,  the  stage-illusion; 
is  destroyed  when  he  has  Fairfax  say  in  a  soliloquy :  "  Wer  nah 
diss  Unheil  sieht,  wer  fern  diss  traurspiel  hort."  In  "  Papin- 
ianus"  the  expositional  matter  is  also  cleverly  cloaked  in  the 
initial  soliloquy.  There  is  a  considerable  admixture  of  philcn 
sophical  reflection : 

"  Wer  iiber  alle  steigt  und  von  der  stoltzen  hoh 
Der  reichen  ehre  schaut,  wie  schlecht  der  povel  geh, 
.  .  .  Hat  wol  (ich  geb  es  nach)  viel  iiber  die  gemein. 
Ach !  aber  ach !  wie  leicht  nimmt  ihn  der  schwindel  ein 
Und  blendet  unverhofft  sein  zitterndes  gesichte, 
Dass  er  durch  gahen  fall  wird,  ehr  man  denkt,  zu  nichte ! 
Wie  leichte  bricht  der  fels,  auf  dem  er  stand  gefasst, 
Und  reisst  ihn  mit  sich  ab !  " 

Later: 


36 

"  Wer  die  gemeine  noth 
Zu  lindern  sich  bemiiht,  sucht  nichts  als  eignen  tod. 
Wer  sich  fiir  alle  wagt,  wird  auch  nicht  einen  finden, 
Auff  dessen  rechte  treu  er  konn  in  schiffbruch  griinden." 

The  speech  is  a  real  talking  to  one's  self,  apostrophe  is  freely 
used  and  in  parts  the  dialog  form  is  successfully  employed: 

"  Was  hab  ich  denn  verwiirckt,  unredliche  gemiitter  ? 
Kommt  klager !  tretet  vor !  entdeckt,  wie  herb  and  bitter 
Auch  cure  zunge  sey !     Ich  fliehe  die  gemein 
(Sprecht  ihr)  und  schliesse  mich  vor  freund  und  fremden  ein. 
Wahr  ists,  dass  ich,"  etc. 

He  takes  up  the  charges  one  by  one  and  answers  them  as  though 
his  accusers  were  confronting  him. 

There  are  few  expositional  soliloquies  in  the  plays  and  all 
have  an  emotional  coating.  "  Papinianus,"  V,  furnishes  a  good 
example  of  inner  conflict,  the  first  time  that  we  meet  with  this 
type  of  soliloquy.  It  opens  with  a  question  of  perplexity: 
"  What  now  ?"  then  takes  up  the  pros  and  cons,  and  after  a 
short  deliberation  the  decision  is  made : 

"  Ach  miissen  wir  die  faust  in  seinem  blute  farben? 
Wir  miissen !  ach !  es  sey !  Papinian  soli  sterben." 

Another  new  type  is  found  in  "  Catherine  von  Georgien  "  where 
Abas  in  a  long  soliloquy  defends  the  decision  he  has  made. 

Ranting  soliloquies  in  Gryphius  are  practically  synonymous 
with  emotional  soliloquies,  as  he  knows  no  bounds  in  the  depic- 
tion of  an  emotion  and  regularly  tears  passion  into  tatters.  In 
"Catherine"  Abas  pours  forth  pages  such  as  the  following: 

""  Princessin  !     Ach  !  Princessin  !     Ach  wir  brennen  ! 

Feuer !  Feuer  !  Feuer !  Feuer  !  Feuer !  kracht  in  diesem  hertzen ! 
Wir  verlodern,  wir  verschmeltzen,  angesteckt  durch  schwefel- 

kertzen 
Princessin!     schau!  princessin!  wir  bekennen 
Entzeptert,  auf  dem  kny  und  mit  gewundnen  handen, 
-Dass  wir  unrechtmassig  dich  betriibet, 
Dass  wir  ein  stuck  an  dir  veriibet, 
Welches  aller  zeiten  zeit  wird  grausam  nennen." 


37 


In  "  Leo  Armenius  ' 


"  Treuloser  aberwitz  !  durch  wahn  verfiihrter  mann  ! 
Undank,  dem  laster  selbst  kein  laster  gleichen  kann ! 
Durchteuffeltes  gemiith  !  vermaledeyte  sinnen  ! 
Die  keine  redlichkeit  noch  wohlthat  mag  gewinnen ! 
Hab  ich  dich  tollen  bund  vom  koth  in  hof  gebracht 
Und  auf  selbst-eigner  schoss  beriihmt  und  gross  gemacht? 
Hat  uns  die  kalte  schlang,  die  jetzund  sticht,  betrogen? 
1st  dieser  basilisc  an  unsrer  brust  erzogen? 
Warum  hat  man  dich  nicht  erwiirgt  auf  frischer  that?" 

The  exposition  in  "  Cardenio  und  Celinde,"  though  appar- 
ently in  dialog  form,  is  in  reality  one  long  soliloquy  which  is 
occasionally  interrupted  by  a  patient  friend  who  asks  for  infor- 
mation that  he  is  familiar  with.  In  the  same  play,  in  the  solilo- 
quy at  the  beginning  of  the  second  act,  we  find  a  most  interest- 
ing defense  of  the  soliloquy,  the  first  and  only  justification  of 
this  convention  in  German  dramatic  poetry : 

"Was  red  ich?  und  mit  wem?    Wie,  wenn  die  heisse  macht 
Der  seuchen  uns  besiegt,  ein  zagend  hertze  schmacht 
In  hart  entbrandter  glut  und  die  geschwachten  sinnen 
Empfinden  nach  und  nach,  wie  kraft  und  geist  zerinnen, 
Indem  die  innre  flamm  nunmehr  den  sitz  anfallt, 
In  welchem  sich  vernunfft  gleich  als  beschlossen  halt, 
Denn  taumelt  der  verstand,  denn  irren  die  gedanken, 
Denn  zehlt  die  schwartze  zung  des  abgelebten  krancken 
Viel  ungestalte  wort  in  schwerem  schwermen  hen" 

In  short,  when  disease  or  an  all-consuming  passion  weaken 
body  and  mind,  the  mind  is  clouded  and  the  ideas  become  con- 
fused and  the  tongue  of  the  unfortunate  victim  rambles  inco- 
herently. Gryphius  accordingly  believes  that  a  person  solilo- 
quizes only  when  he  is  in  an  abnormal  condition. 

According  to  Proelss  these  plays  were  produced  on  the 
stage,  not  very  frequently  to  be  sure  and  most  likely  in  a  sadly 
mutilated  form.  The  stage  varied  according  to  the  theater,  the 
stages  in  the  court  and  school  theaters  naturally  being  better 
equipped  with  stage  setting  and  scenery  than  those  of  the  trav- 
eling players.     We  still  find  a  front  and  a  back  stage  separated 


38 

by  a  curtain,  but  the  sides  of  the  stage  are  now  shut  off  from  the 
audience  either  by  curtains  or  walls.  The  front  stage  in  the 
permanent  theaters  was  provided  with  several  drop  curtains, 
one  for  each  act;  the  stages  of  the  itinerant  players,  on  the 
other  hand,  generally  had  only  one.  Artificial  light  had  to  be 
used,  as  most  of  the  performances  were  given  indoors. 

As  we  turn  from  the  tragedies  to  the  comedies — Scherzspiele 
is  the  author's  designation — we  involuntarily  smile  at  the  idea 
of  an  individual  so  immersed  in  gloom  and  melancholy  even 
harboring  a  humorous  thought.  But  as  we  read  along  we  can 
but  marvel  at  the  wonderful  metamorphosis,  and  finally  per- 
force resort  to  a  Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde  theory  to  account 
for  the  exuberant  humor  and  the  genuine  tomfoolery  that  per- 
vades the  plays. 

The  expositional  soliloquies  are  addressed  directly  to  the 
audience  and  filled  with  such  exclamations  as :  "  See  here ! 
you  may  believe  me,"  etc.  Quite  regularly  the  approach  of  the 
next  character  is  announced  at  the  end  of  a  soliloquy:  O  see, 
there  she  comes  already !  or.  See,  there  he  is,  etc.  In  "  Die 
geliebte  Dornrose"  the  overheard  soliloquy  is  repeatedly  used 
and  in  connection  with  it  the  aside.  In  the  first  act  of  this  play 
two  soliloquies,  delivered  by  characters  at  opposite  sides  of  the 
stage,  are  overheard  by  a  third  character  who  is  hiding.^  The 
asides  are  for  the  most  part  humorous,  although  a  reflective  bit 
occurs  occasionally,  so,  e.  g.,  "  You  see,  neighbors,  that's  what 
you  get  when  you  allow  the  girls  to  go  to  school  and  learn  to 
spell,"^  possibly  the  earliest  dramatic  attack  upon  feminism. 

Ranting  soliloquies  do  not  occur.  A  good  example  of  the 
soliloquy  expressing  inner  conflict  occurs  in  "  Horribilicribri- 
fax":  "What  shall  I  do  now?  Shall  I  turn  back?  That 
would  appear  too  unmannerly.  I  shall  pass  by  and  address  her 
very  briefly."^  In  "Peter  Squenz,"  where  there  is  a  play  within 
the  play,  viz.,  that  of  Pyramus  and  Thisbe,  the  characters  of 
the  enclosed  play  employ  the  introduction  soliloquy  in  the  style 
of  the  old  church  plays.* 

1  Comedies,  ed.  by  H.  Palm;  I,  p.  258  ff. ;  II,  p.  286  ff. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  288. 

sibid.,  II,  p.  89.     Another  example  in  IV,  p.  126. 
4  Ibid.,  Ill,  p.  28  ff. 


39 

2.  Lohenstein 
Taking  ''  Cleopatra  "  and  "  Ibrahim  Sultan  "  as  representa- 
tive plays,  one  finds  little  in  the  use  of  the  soliloquy  that  dif- 
ferentiates it  from  that  employed  by  Gryphius.  The  relative 
scarcity  of  the  soliloquy  is  perhaps  noteworthy.  The  same 
fondness  for  philosophic  reflections,  florid  rhetoric  and  apostro- 
phe characterize  Lohenstein's  soliloquies.  On  the  whole,  there 
is  less  ranting  than  in  the  soliloquies  of  Gryphius.  Quotations 
from  the  one  real  soliloquy  in  "  Cleopatra  " — there  are  three 
which  are  delivered  in  the  presence  of  others — will  sufficiently 
illustrate  the  above  mentioned  characteristics: 

"  O  Sprudel-reiches  Meer  der  jammer-voUen  Welt ! 
Die  Segel  stehn  gespann't,  die  Netze  sind  gestellt 
Uns  in  den  Hafen,  Ihn  in's  Garn  und  Grab  zu  fiihren.  .  .  . 
Ein  flatternd  Herze  gleicht  mit  Wanckel-muth  den  Pferden, 
Die  ein  geschwancker  Zaum  bald  recht-  bald  linckwerts  lenckt.  .  .  . 
Gunst,  Liebe,  Freundschafft  gleicht  sich  zarten  Berg-Kristallen, 
Die  keine  Kunst  ergantzt,  sind  einmal  sie  zerf alien: 
Stillt  auch  Versohnung  gleich  zmveilen  Wund  und  Blutt, 
Sie  bricht  erhitzter  auf  und  scharfifet  Gall'  und  Glutt, 
Die  in  dem  Hertzen  kocht,  Man  trockne  Sumpf  und  Lachen, 
Ein  Under  Regen  wird  sie  wieder  wassricht  machen."  .  .  .^ 

3.  Christian  Weise 

Compared  to  the  bombast  and  turgidity  of  Gryphius  and  his 
followers  the  simplicity  and  naturalness  of  Weise's  plays  is  in- 
deed refreshing.  He  shows  a  keen  knowledge  of  human  nature 
and  a  good  sense  of  humor.  Had  he  not  ground  out  his  plays 
in  such  a  mechanical  fashion — he  wrote  three  each  year  besides 
attending  to  his  arduous  school  work — and  written  them  for 
school  purposes,  his  plays  might  have  exerted  great  influence 
upon  the  development  of  the  drama.  As  a  matter  of  fact  his 
plays  hardly  created  a  ripple  in  the  dramatic  pool. 

The  comedies  "  Die  bose  Catherine "  and  "  Der  baurische 
Machiavellus  "^  and  the  tragedy  "  Masaniello  "^  will  adequately 

1  Act  II,  p.   181 ;   Deutsche  Nat.  Lit.,  Vol.  z^. 

2  Deutsche  Nat.  Lit.,  Vol.  39. 

3  Neudrucke  deutscher  Litteraturwerke  des  16.  und  17.  Jahrhunderts, 
ed.  by  R.  Petsch,  Halle,  1907. 


40 

serve  to  illustrate  Weise's  use  of  the  soliloquy.  The  large  num- 
ber of  soliloquies  is  noteworthy  as  well  as  the  author's  fond- 
ness for  asides.  For  the  most  part  these  soliloquies  are  expo- 
sitional  and  of  the  crude  type  in  which  the  audience  is  taken 
into  the  speaker's  confidence.  As  a  rule  they  are  short  and  the 
language  is  natural  and  free  from  ornamentation.  Our  old 
friends,  the  self -identifying  and  self -characterizing  soliloquy, 
also  crop  to  the  surface  every  now  and  then,  so,  e.  g.,  in 
"  Machiavellus,"  II  and  III  ;^ "  Masaniello,"  III.-  Reflective  and 
moralizing  soliloquies  are  rather  infrequent,  but  it  is  interesting 
to  notice  that  the  clown  is  often  the  author's  mouthpiece  and 
indulges  in  a  moralizing  harangue  in  the  style  of  the  French 
raisonneur.^  Emotional  soliloquies  are  very  prosaic  and  shal- 
low and  offer  nothing  remarkable. 

On  the  whole,  Weise's  technic  of  the  soliloquy  shows  little 
advance  over  that  of  the  15th  and  i6th  centuries. 

4.  Gottsched  and  his  Follozvers 

Gottsched's  view  regarding  the  soliloquy  has  been  previously 
quoted,  viz.,  that  sane  people  are  not  in  the  habit  of  talking  to 
themselves  when  alone  except  when  they  are  overcome  by  emo- 
tion, and  in  that  case  very  briefly.  Although  he  himself  did 
not  entirely  taboo  the  soliloquy  in  his  dramatic  work — his 
"  Cato,"  e.  g.,  contains  several  short  reflective  and  link  solilo- 
quies and  a  long  deliberative  soliloquy — his  pupils  and  follow- 
ers consistently  avoided  it.  His  "  Deutsche  Schaubiihne,"  a  col- 
lection of  translations  from  Moliere,  Corneille,  Racine,  Vol- 
taire, Holberg,  etc.,  and  original  works  by  his  wife,  J.  E. 
Schlegel  and  others,  for  the  most  part  contains  dramas  which 
do  without  soliloquies  and  asides,  especially  the  plays  of  J.  E. 
Schlegel  and  Luise  Adelgunde  Victoria  Gottsched,  the  reform- 
er's wife.  Schlegel  makes  sport  of  the  soliloquy  in  a  criticism 
of  a  drama  by  J.  Klaj  entitled  "  Herodes  " :  "  Here  we  plainly 
see  how  useful  it  would  be  if  the  author  of  the  tragedy  himself 
would  step  into  a  corner  of  the  stage  and  talk  occasionally. 

1  Deutsche  Nat.  Lit.,  Vol.  39,  p.  20;  p.  45. 

2  Op.  cit.,  p.  78. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  48. 


41 

.  .  .  Instead  of  the  hero  coming  out  and  telling  himself  about 
his  troubles  in  a  long  speech,  so  that  the  spectators  may  know 
what  is  on  his  mind,  the  author  might  say :  now  love  is  torment- 
ing my  hero  with  cruel  thoughts ;  now  he  does  not  know  what 
to  do."^ 

In  the  comedies  the  use  of  the  confidant  in  the  French  man- 
ner solves  the  problem  of  exposition ;  in  the  tragedies  the  dialog 
is  overloaded  with  epic  matter,  so  that  it  becomes  entirely  un- 
dramatic  and  lifeless,  as  in  Schlegel's  "  Hermann."  Characteri- 
zation and  psychological  development  are  practically  wanting, 
in  fact  the  whole  treatment  is  epic  rather  than  dramatic.  If 
these  plays  had  had  real  dramatic  worth  their  new  technic,  viz., 
the  dropping  of  soliloquies  and  asides,  might  have  exerted  great 
influence  upon  succeeding  dramatists.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the 
innovation  passed  unnoticed. 

Gottsched's  hostility  to  the  soliloquy  and  aside  is  doubtless 
due  to  French  influence,  primarily  that  of  Hedelin,  whom  he 
ranks  with  Aristotle  as  an  authority  on  dramatic  matters.^  In- 
asmuch as  Hedelin's  view  was  on  the  whole  hostile  to  the  solilo- 
quy, as  we  have  previously  pointed  out,  it  is  small  wonder  that 
Gottsched  adopts  his  master's  point  of  view.  Then  too  the 
fact  that  Corneille's  later  dramas  and  Moliere's  masterpieces 
were  practically  devoid  of  soliloquies  may  also  have  influenced 
him. 

Summing  up,  then,  the  period  from  Gryphius  to  Lessing,  a 
period  of  servile  adherence  to  foreign  models  and  foreign 
technic,  Roman  in  the  case  of  Gryphius,  his  followers  and  the 
writers  of  school  drama,  French  in  the  case  of  Gottsched  and 
his  school,  illustrates  the  usual  fate  of  a  popular  idol  in  the 
career  of  the  soliloquy.  The  florid,  rhetorical  soliloquy  of 
Gryphius,  dazzling  the  populace  as  did  Beau  Brummel  in  the 
heyday  of  his  career,  meets  with  reverses  and  is  compelled  to 
slink  oflf  the  scene  of  its  former  triumphs,  when  it  is  reduced 
to  a  threadbare,  impossible  exterior  such  as  it  presents  in 
Weise's  works. 

1  Quoted  by  Diisel,  in  Beitrage  zur  Critischen  Historic  der  deutschen 
Sprache,  27.  Stiick,  1741. 

2  F.  Diisel,  p.  4  ff- 


CHAPTER  III 

The  Era  of  Lessing,  Schiller  and  Goethe 

In  the  preceding  period  the  soliloquy  passed  from  a  state  of 
unchallenged  acceptance  and  unqualified  approval  to  a  state  of 
innocuous  desuetude.  During  the  classic  period,  the  era  of 
Lessing,  Schiller  and  Goethe,  the  soliloquy  practically  under- 
went the  opposite  process.  Lessing  attempted  the  impossible 
by  trying  to  transmute  a  convention  into  a  "  slice  of  life."  His 
realistic  treatment  of  the  soliloquy  undoubtedly  invested  it  with 
as  much  naturalness  (vraisemblance,  to  use  the  French  term), 
as  was  humanly  possible,  and  yet  the  fact  remains  that  even  his 
form  of  the  soliloquy  is  not  a  faithful  counterpart  of  real  life 
— we  do  not  regularly  think  aloud — and  after  all  a  conven- 
tion. Schiller  and  Goethe  on  the  other  hand  did  not  worry 
about  the  naturalness  or  unnaturalness  of  the  soliloquy,  but 
restored  it  to  its  former  position  of  an  absolute  ruler  whose 
rights  are  in  no  wise  questioned. 

I.    Lessing 

If  Lessing  had  not  been  antagonistic  to  all  things  Gott- 
schedian,  there  is  a  possibility  that  he  might  have  developed  and 
perfected  the  new  technic  and  given  us  powerful  dramas  whose 
appeal  would  not  have  been  weakened  by  the  absence  of  solil- 
oquies and  asides.  But  to  return  to  actuality,  Lessing's  tech- 
nic of  the  soliloquy  in  his  early  comedies,  "  Damon,"  "  Der 
junge  Gelehrte,"  "  Der  Misogyn,"  "  Die  alte  Jungfer,"  "  Der 
Freigeist,"  "  Die  Juden  "  and  "  Der  Schatz,"  is  on  a  plane  so 
much  lower  than  that  found  in  his  maturer  plays  that  it  is  best 
treated  separately. 

Expositional  soliloquies  are  rare  in  the  early  plays,  as  the 
employment  of  confidants  in  the  French  manner  made  them 
unnecessary.  Only  one  example  of  the  introductory  exposi- 
tional soliloquy  occurs,  viz.,  in  "  Der  Misogyn,"  but  even  here 
42 


43 

we  find  quite  an  improvement  over  the  bald  and  calm  state- 
ment of  facts  that  was  customary.  A  highly  irate  father  bel- 
lows a  few  disjointed  expositional  bits  at  the  audience.  A  be- 
lated piece  of  introductory  exposition,  "  Freigeist,"  I,  2,  shows 
a  skillful  blending  of  the  purely  epic  with  the  emotional,  the 
latter  outweighing  the  former.  The  accumulated  anger  of  the 
first  scene  bursts  forth  in  wrathy  reflections  which  are  followed 
by  a  few  facts  necessary  to  the  comprehension  of  the  plot.  But 
one  crudely  expositional  speech  can  be  found,  that  of  Raps  in 
"  Der  Schatz,"  Sc.  II,  in  which  he  identifies  himself:  "Man 
muss  allerlei  Personen  spielen  konnen.  Den  mochte  ich  doch 
sehen,  der  in  diesem  Aufzuge  den  Trommelschlager  Raps 
erkennen  sollte?  Ich  seh'  aus,  ich  weiss  selber  nicht  wie;  und 
soil — ich  weiss  selber  nicht  was?  Eine  narrische  Kommis- 
sion ! " 

Unnecessary  characterizing  bits,  which  remind  one  of  the 
labels  in  the  mouths  of  old  pictures,  crop  up  in  soliloquies  now 
and  then,  e.  g.,  in  "  Der  Freigeist,"  I,  end,  where  the  servant 
characterizes  his  master,  and  II,  4,  where  Lisette  describes  two 
servants:  "Ein  Paar  allerliebste  Schlingel!  Adrasts  Johann 
und  Theophans  IMartin:  die  wahren  Bilder  ihrer  Herren  von 
der  hasslichen  Seite!  Aus  Freigeisterei  ist  jener  ein  Spitz- 
bube ;  und  aus  Frommigkeit  dieser  ein  Dummkopf ." 

The  speaker's  intention  rarely  requires  a  whole  speech ;  as 
a  rule  it  forms  the  appendix  of  a  reflective  soliloquy,  thus 
giving  a  dramaitic  touch  to  speeches  that  temporarily  retard  the 
movement  of  a  play.^ 

Lessing  shows  a  decided  predilection  for  reflective  solilo- 
quies in  the  early  plays,  a  type  of  soliloquy  in  which  the  speaker 
reverts  to  the  theme  discussed  in  the  preceding  dialog  and  com- 
ments upon  it  or  gives  vent  to  the  feeling  and  emotion  aroused 
by  that  conversation.  Unless  these  reflective  speeches  result 
in  a  change  of  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  speaker  or  in  the 
formulation  of  a  plan  that  has  some  bearing  on  the  action,  they 
naturally  are  lyric  rather  than  dramatic.  Most  of  them  are 
undramatic  in  character  and  have  a  considerable  admixture  of 

1  Die  alte  Jungfer,  II,  4;  Der  Freigeist,  III,  7;  Der  Schatz,  Sc.  2. 


44 

philosophic  reflection.  "  The  tone  of  these  soliloquies  is  natur- 
ally not  dramatic  but  rather  elegiac  and  passive,  and  philo- 
sophic embellishment  which  the  young  thinker  could  not  do 
without  even  in  his  comedies  makes  them  rather  duller  and 
more  tiresome  than  livelier  and  brighter."^  Every  one  of  the 
early  plays  furnishes  examples  of  this  type :  "  Damon,"  Sc.  6, 
8;  "Der  junge  Gelehrte,"  I,  I,  II,  4;  "  Der  Misogyn,"  II,  beg. 
II,  6;  II,  end;  "  Die  alte  Jungfer,"  II,  4;  "  Die  Juden,"  17,  19; 
"Der  Schatz,"  3,  8,  10,  11 ;  "  Der  Freigeist,"  III,  3,  III,  7,  V, 
2,  etc.  There  is  a  liberal  sprinkling  of  the  philosophical  ele- 
ment in  almost  all  of  the  above  mentioned  soliloquies.  A  full- 
fledged  "  Tendenzmonolog "  occurs  in  "  Die  Juden,"  Sc.  3,  in 
which  the  attitude  of  Christians  towards  Jews  is  criticized. 
Emotional  outbursts  are  rare,  the  best  examples  occurring  in 
"  Der  Freigeist,"  I,  2,  V,  2. 

Lessing's  desire  to  avoid  an  empty  stage  gave  rise  to  quite 
a  few  link  soliloquies  whose  function  it  was  to  fill  the  gap 
between  the  exit  of  one  character  and  the  entrance  of  another.^ 

The  most  interesting  feature  of  Lessing's  early  soliloquies 
is  their  style.  Even  in  "  Damon,"  his  earliest  attempt,  Less- 
ing  breaks  away  from  the  familiar  type  with  its  carefully 
expressed,  logically  developed  and  uninterrupted  ideas,  such 
as  one  might  find  and  expect  in  a  previously  prepared  argument 
or  oration.  Both  of  Damon's  long  reflective  speeches,  Sc.  6 
and  8,  show  the  author's  attempt  to  express  the  ideas  as  they 
occur  to  the  speaker.  The  thoughts  come  haltingly  one  mo- 
ment, then  again  one  thought  is  interrupted  by  another  that 
suddenly  suggests  itself.  There  are  breaks  in  the  continuity 
of  the  thought,  sudden  jumps  far  afield,  reversion  to  previously 
expressed  ideas,  sudden  anticipations.  "  Ich  wiirde  ihn  selbst 
tadeln — Doch — ich  halte  ihn  auch  nicht  einmal  fahig  dazu — er 
mag  sein,  was  er  will — aber — ich  irre  mich  wohl  auch — ich 
beurtheile  ihn  nach  mir — weil  ich  so  schwach  bin ;  f olgt  es  denn 
daraus,  dass  ein  anderer — Doch  allerdings  eine  so  vollkommene 
Freundschaft  ist  fiir  diese  Welt  nicht — Ob  auch  wohl  Leander 
so  denkt,  als  er  redet? — Halt — Ich  will,"  etc. 

1  Dusel,  op.  cit.,  p.  30. 

2  Damon,  I,  3 ;  I,  5  ;     Die  alte  Jungfer,  i,  3;  I,  4;  Der  junge  Gelehrte, 


45 

In  his  desire  to  emphasize  the  realistic  element  he  over- 
emphasized and  went  too  far,  but  that  does  not  detract  from 
the  value  of  the  innovation.  There  is  at  least  no  doubt  in  any 
one's  mind  that  the  speaker  is  thoroughly  aroused  and  excited. 
Adrast's  soliloquy  in  "  Der  Freigeist,"  V,  2,  also  admirably  por- 
trays his  violent  agitation :  "  Was  fiir  ein  neuer  Streich  ! — Ich 
kann  nicht  wieder  zu  mir  kommen ! — Es  ist  nicht  auszuhalten ! 
Verachtungen,  Beleidigungen — Beleidigungen  in  dem  Gegen- 
stande,  der  ihm  der  liebste  sein  muss: — alles  ist  umsonst; 
nichts  will  er  fiihlen,"  etc. 

The  occasional  interruption  of  the  speaker  in  the  middle  of 
his  soliloquy  is  another  realistic  touch. ^  But  the  announcing 
of  the  next  character  by  the  speaker  of  the  soliloquy  when  he 
has  finished  is  far  more  common :  "  Da  kommt  er  ja  selber ; 
Ah,  hui  da  kommt;  Ha,  da  kommt  er;  komm{  da  nicht." 

Apostrophe  is  rarely  used  in  the  early  plays  to  enliven  the 
soliloquy.  A  long  apostrophe  to  learning  by  Damis  occurs  in 
a  pseudo-soliloquy,  as  a  servant  is  present  and  listening.^ 

Asides  are  numerous,  especially  in  "  Die  Juden,"  "  Der 
Freigeist,"  and  "  Der  Schatz."  It  seems  strange  that  the  same 
man  who  strove  to  make  the  soliloquy  realistic  could  allow  such 
an  improbable  convention  as  the  aside  in  his  plays.  During 
a  dialog  in  "  Die  Juden,"  e.  g.,  the  characters  stop  in  the  middle 
of  a  conversation  and  each  delivers  three  asides,  a  ludicrous 
performance.  Then  after  they  have  talked  past  each  other, 
one  asks  the  other  why  he  has  been  so  lost  in  thought.*  Of 
course  Lessing's  indebtedness  to  French  comedy  and  especially 
to  Regnard,  Marivaux  and  Destouches  accounts  for  the  use  of 
the  aside,  but  as  early  as  1750,  the  same  year  in  which  "Der 
Schatz "  was  written,  he  found  asides  "  so  ungereimt,  dass 
nichts  darijber  ist,"*  and  accused  every  one  who  did  not  find 
them  very  offensive  of  lack  of  taste.  It  is  evidently  another 
instance  of  the  fact  that  theory  and  practise  do  not  always 
coincide. 

1  Die  alte  Jungfer,  II,  4;   Der  Freigeist,  V,  2;   Die  Juden,  I,  3;  I,   19. 

2  Der  Junge  Gelehrte,  I,  i. 
8Sc.  6. 

*  Criticism  of  Plautus'  Captivi  in  Beytrage  zur  Historie  u.  Aufnahme 
des  Theaters,  3.  Stuck,  1750. 


46 

In  the  48th  number  of  the  "  Hamhurgische  Dramaturgic" 
Lessing  warmly  defends  soliloquies  which  acquaint  us  with  the 
attitude  and  the  plans  of  the  speaker.  Quoting  from  his  trans- 
lation of  Diderot's  essay  on  dramatic  art  he  says :  "  Warum 
haben  gewisse  Monologen  eine  so  grosse  Wirkung?  Darum, 
weil  sie  mir  die  geheimen  Anschlage  einer  Person  vertrauen 
und  diese  Vertraulichkeit  mich  den  Augenblick  mit  Furcht  oder 
Hoffnung  fiillet."  He  goes  on  to  say  that  if  the  attitude  of  the 
characters  is  unknown  to  the  spectator  the  latter  cannot  mani- 
fest particular  interest  in  the  action,  but  that  his  interest  will 
be  doubled  if  he  has  some  light  on  the  matter  and  feels  that 
the  action  and  the  speeches  would  be  entirely  different  if  the 
characters  knew  each  other.  Only  in  that  case  he  will  hardly 
be  able  to  await  the  development  when  he  is  able  to  compare 
their  real  selves  with  their  acts.  Later  in  the  same  essay  he 
defends  the  expositional  prologs  of  Euripides  because  he  main- 
tains that  it  is  better  to  acquaint  the  audience  with  the  neces- 
sary exposition  in  a  crude  manner  than  not  at  all.  In  No.  49 
he  again  champions  the  expositional  prolog  and  states  that  he 
greatly  prefers  it  to  a  dialog  exposition  with  the  aid  of  a  talk- 
ative confidant. 

Lessing  practised  what  he  preached  with  regard  to  the  solil- 
oquy, and  we  find  expositional  soliloquies  of  all  kinds,  includ- 
ing the  introductory  variety  as  well  as  soliloquies  which  reveal 
the  thoughts  and  emotions  of  the  speakers.  Initial  exposition 
is  conveyed  in  soliloquy  form  in  "  Philotas "  and  "  Emilia 
Galotti,"  in  dialog  form  in  "  Miss  Sara  Sampson,"  "  Minna," 
and  "  Nathan."  In  both  "  Minna  "  and  "  Sara  "  this  exposi- 
tional dialog  takes  place  between  the  principal  characters  and  a 
trusted  servant  or  chambermaid,  in  other  words  the  French 
confidant;  in  "Naithan"  the  dialog  is  better  motivated,  as 
Nathan  returns  from  a  journey  and  naturally  wishes  to  be  put 
in  touch  with  the  events  that  have  occurred  during  his  absence, 
reminding  one  somewhat  of  Ibsen's  technic  in  "  Ghosts,"  "  Ros- 
mersholm,"  "  Doll's  House  "  and  others. 

The  brief  expositional  bit  in  "  Minna "  in  which  Just  con- 
veys a  few  facts  while  talking  in  his  sleep  is  too  short  to  be 
a  full-fledged  initial  exposition  soliloquy.     The  clever  manner 


47 

in  which  its  exposition  is  presented,  with  its  admixture  of 
anger  and  the  use  of  the  dialog  form,  brings  home  rather 
forcibly  the  remarkable  progress  since  the  old-time  expositional 
soliloquy.  The  initial  soliloquy  in  "  Philotas  "  is  so  permeated 
with  despair,  impatience,  disgust  and  impotent  rage  that  one 
fails  to  notice  the  purely  expositional  element.  It  is  a  real  talk- 
ing to  one's  self :  "  Schmeichle  dir  nur,  Philotas !  "  and  uses  the 
apostrophe  very  effectively.  Of  the  eight  scenes  in  the  first 
act  of  "  Emilia  Galotti,"  the  odd  scenes  are  adjoining  links  in 
the  exposition,  all  in  soliloquy  form  and  all  delivered  by  the 
prince.  Only  the  first  scene  includes  small  bits  of  dialog  with 
his  valet.  But  this  exposition  is  cleverly  managed.  In  the 
first  two  letters  in  the  mass  of  mail  which  he  is  rapidly  perus- 
ing are  pegs  upon  which  he  hangs  a  bit  of  information.  Then 
the  arrival  of  a  painting  previously  ordered  furnishes  a  very 
plausible  excuse  for  a  little  more  exposition.  Scene  5  alone 
is  a  Httle  superfluous  in  my  opinion,  inasmuch  as  the  declara- 
tion of  his  love  is  repeated  in  the  dialog  of  the  following  scene. 
To  be  sure  the  prince's  agitation  gives  this  soliloquy  life  and 
animation,  but  it  is  not  essential.  The  seventh  scene  on  the 
other  hand  bears  vitally  upon  what  is  to  follow  with  its  antici- 
patory content.  Incidentally  this  series  of  soliloquies  throws 
considerable  light  upon  the  character  of  the  prince. 

Self-characterizing  passages  occur  in  several  of  the  solilo- 
quies, the  crudest  being  that  of  the  Klosterbruder  in  "  Nathan," 
who  says :  "  Ich  mag  nicht  fein  sein ;  mag  nicht  iiberreden ; 
mag  mein  Naschen  nicht  in  alias  stecken ;  mag  mein  Handchen 
nicht  in  allem  haben."^  Marwood's  speech,  IV,  5,  is  more 
dramatic:  "Bin  ich  allein? — Kann  ich  unbemerkt  einmal  Atem 
schopfen  und  die  Muskeln  des  Gesichtes  in  ihre  natiirliche  Lage 
fahren  lassen? — Ich  muss  geschwind  einmal  in  alien  Mienen 
die  wahre  Marwood  sein,  um  den  Zwang  der  Verstellung 
wieder  aushalten  zu  konnen. — Wie  basse  ich  dich,  niedrige 
Verstellung!  Nicht  weil  ich  die  Aufrichtigkeit  Hebe  sondern 
weil  du  die  armseligste  Zuflucht  der  ohnmachtigen  Rachsucht 
bist."^    When  Tellheim  tears  up  Marloff's  note,  he  throws  a 

1  Nathan  der  Weise,  IV,  beginning. 

2  Miss  Sara  Sampson. 


48 

little  light  on  his  character :  "  Wer  steht  mir  daf iir,  dass  eigner 
Mangel  mich  nicht  einmal  verleiten  konnte,  Gebrauch  davon  zu 
machen  ?  "^ 

Baldly  expositional  bits  are  rare  indeed,  the  two  instances  in 
"  Minna  "  being  the  only  examples.  But  even  here  they  are 
partially  redeemed  by  being  but  a  part  of  respectable  reflectira 
soliloquies.  A  little  thought,  however,  would  have  made  them 
unnecessary. 

A  good  example  of  a  descriptive  soliloquy  occurs  in  "  Emilia 
Galotti,"  III,  2,  where  Marinelli  stands  at  the  window  and 
describes  what  is  going  on  outside.  Questions  and  exclama- 
tions together  with  apostrophes  give  it  quite  a  little  dramatic 
life.  Other  descriptive  passages  are  found  in  "  Nathan,"  II,  5, 
II,  7,  in  the  first  of  which  Nathan  describes  the  approaching 
knight,  in  the  second  a  former  acquaintance. 

When  a  speaker  expresses  his  intention  in  soliloquy  he 
usually  does  so  after  due  reflection,  and  accordingly  we  find 
an  intentional  ending  in  practically  all  reflective  soliloquies  as 
well  as  in  some  of  the  deliberative  and  conflict  soliloquies.  In 
this  respect  the  reflective  soliloquies  of  the  later  plays  stand 
on  a  higher  plane,  as  they  rise  from  passive  inactivity  to  active 
participation  in  the  plot. 

The  reflective  soliloquies  of  the  later  plays,  then,  both  revert 
and  anticipate,  thus  influencing  the  action.  A  good  example 
ocurs  in  "  Nathan,"  IV,  8,  where  Daja,  after  reflecting  for  a 
moment  about  the  preceding  conversation,  announces  her  inten- 
tion of  telling  Recha  who  she  really  is.  Other  examples  are 
found  in  "Minna,"  IV,  8;  "  Philotas,"  Sc.  4;  "Emilia,"  III, 
5,  III,  2.  The  moralizing  and  philosophical  element  which  Less- 
ing  was  so  partial  to  in  his  early  plays  is  discarded  in  his  later 
dramas. 

The  best  example  of  a  deliberative  soliloquy  is  Nathan's 
famous  speech.  III,  6,  in  which  he  arrays  his  keen  mental 
powers  against  the  Sultan's  tricky  question  that  covers  so  many 
pitfalls  and  finally  hits  upon  a  solution.  The  slight  perplexity 
that  the  Sultan's  question  has  left  him  in  is  splendidly  portrayed : 

iMinna,  I,  7. 


49 

"  Hm  !  Hm  ! — wuncierlich  ! — Wie  ist 

Mir  denn? — Was  will  der  Sultan?    Was? — Ich  bin 
Auf  Geld  gefasst;  und  er  will — Wahrheit.    Wahrheit." 

Then  after  he  has  laid  bare  the  trap  he  proceeds  to  weigh 
possible  answers  in  masterly  fashion : 

"  Ich  muss 
Behutsam  gehn. — und  wie?  wie  das? — So  ganz 
Stockjude  sein  zu  wollen,  geht  schon  nicht. — 
Und  ganz  und  gar  nicht  Jude  geht  noch  minder. 
Denn,  wenn  kein  Jude,  diirft  er  nur  fragen, 
Warum  kein  Muselman  ?  " 

In  the  ensuing  pause  a  solution  presents  itself  which  satis- 
fies him  completely :  "  Das  war's.    Das  kann  mich  retten." 

Scene  8  of  the  same  act  makes  it  plain  that  to  Lessing  the 
soliloquy  was  a  thinking  aloud.  The  stage  directions  read: 
"Tempelherr.  Geht  mit  sich  selbst  kampfend,  auf  und  ab;  bis 
er  losbricht,"  which  surely  indicates  that  we  are  now  to  hear 
the  continuation  of  an  inner  conflict,  that  his  thoughts  now 
become  audible.  His  emotion  quickly  gives  way  to  calmer 
deliberation,  which  results  in  a  decision.  This  transition  from 
silent  to  audible  thought  is  also  evident  in  V,  3,  and  III,  6. 

When  the  head  is  subordinated  to  the  heart,  when  the  careful 
mental  balancing  of  the  pros  and  cons  is  upset  by  an  emotional 
eruption,  we  pass  from  the  deliberative  soliloquy  to  one  of  con- 
flict. Odoardo's  speech,  V,  4,  aptly  illustrates  this  transition: 
"  Wie  ? — Nimmermehr ! — Mir  vorschreiben,  wo  sie  hin  soil  ? — 
Mir  sie  vorenthalten ? — Wer  will  das?  Wer  darf  das? — Der 
hier  alles  darf,  was  er  will?  Gut,  gut;  so  soil  er  sehen,  wne 
viel  auch  ich  darf,  ob  ich  es  schon  nicht  diirf te !  Kurzsichtiger 
Wuterich !  Mit  dir  will  ich  es  schon  aufnehmen.  Wer  kein 
Gesetz  achtet,  ist  eben  so  machtig,  als  wer  kein  Gesetz  hat. 
Das  weisst  du  nicht  ?  Komm  an !  komm  an ! — Aber  siehe  da ! 
Schon  wieder ;  schon  wieder  rennet  der  Zorn  mit  dem  Ver- 
stande  davon."  Then  he  settles  down  to  calm  deliberation: 
"  Was  will  ich  ?  Erst  miisst'  es  doch  geschehen  sein,  woriiber 
ich  tobe,"  etc.  Soliloquies  in  which  emotion  unmistakably  holds 
the  upper  hand  are  Odoardo's  conflict  soliloquy,  V,  6;  Melle- 
font's  speech,  IV,  2 ;  Marwood's  soliloquy,  IV,  9 ;  the  speech  of 
4 


50 

Tempelherr,  III,  lo.  Philotas's  long  soliloquy  in  the  4th  scene 
is  deliberative  on  the  whole,  although  there^is  a  strong  under- 
current of  emotion  at  times. 

Purely  emotional  soliloquies,  i.  e.,  soliloquies  whose  sole 
aim  is  to  acquaint  us  with  the  speaker's  feelings,  are  not 
frequent.  Most  of  the  soliloquies,  with  the  exception  of  the 
baldly  expositional  and  the  purely  mental  deliberative  speeches, 
have  an  admixture  of  emotion.  Minna's  outburst  of  joy  at 
finding  Tellheim:  "  Ich  habe  ihn  wieder! — Ich  hab'  ihn,  ich 
hab'  ihn !  Ich  bin  gliicklich  !  und  f  rohlich !  "^  is  the  best  ex- 
ample of  an  unadulterated  emotional  soliloquy  in  Lessing's 
dramas. 

The  language  of  the  soliloquies  in  the  later  plays  lacks  poetic 
embellishment  and  rhetorical  flourish ;  it  is  simple  and  natural. 
Liberal  use  of  apostrophe  and  the  dialog  form  infuses  a  great 
deal  of  dramatic  life  into  these  speeches.  In  addition  the  solil- 
oquies give  us  an  insight  into  the  workings  of  the  mind,  show- 
ing us  how  the  ideas  come  to  consciousness  one  by  one.  The 
fact  that  the  ego  of  the  speaker  is  so  often  divided  into  two 
arguing  or  opposing  selves  makes  us  forget  for  the  time  being 
that  there  is  but  one  character  on  the  stage. 

The  custom  of  announcing  the  approach  of  an  actor  at  the 
close  of  the  soliloquy  is  retained  in  the  later  plays.  Asides  are 
less  numerous  in  the  later  dramas,  but  even  this  is  surprising 
when  we  know  how  bitterly  Lessing  denounced  them  in  the 
"  Dramaturgie,"  where  he  refers  to  them  as  "  unnatiirliche 
Kiinsteleien."     "Nathan"  contains  as  many  as  fifteen  asides! 

Nowhere  in  Lessing's  plays  is  the  language  of  the  soliloquy 
embellished  or  florid.  Generalizing  and  sententious  ingredi- 
ents occur  only  in  his  early  plays.  A  growing  desire  to  make 
the  soliloquies  as  natural  as  possible  is  plainly  discernible  as 
one  reads  the  dramas  chronologically.  Whereas  many  of  the 
early  soliloquies  served  a  merely  mechanical  purpose,  viz.,  the 
linking  of  scenes,  the  later  soliloquies  are  essential  parts  of  the 
drama  as  they  have  a  direct  bearing  upon  plot  and  characteriza- 
tion. The  scarcity  of  expositional  soliloquies  in  the  early  plays 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  necessary  exposition  was  usually 

HI,  7. 


51 

conveyed  to  the  audience  by  dialogs  of  servants  or  confidants 
who  were  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  state  of  affairs. 
Although  the  later  plays  have  more  expositional  soliloquies, 
these  speeches  are  never  crudely  instructive  but  closely  knit 
into  the  fabric  of  the  play. 

2.  Storm  and  Stress  Drama 

A  craving  for  uncorrupted  nature,  the  glorification  of  indi- 
viduality, the  denunciation  of  current  social  conditions,  bitter 
attacks  upon  authority,  whatever  its  guise — these  in  short  are 
the  characteristics  of  this  revolutionary  movement.  The  attack 
upon  literary  authority  manifested  itself  chiefly  in  a  revolt 
against  French  influence,  French  artificiality  and  the  unnatural- 
ness  that  resulted  from  tlie  tyranny  of  the  irksome  three  unities, 
together  with  a  demand  for  themes  that  were  distinctively  Ger- 
man in  character. 

How  did  all  this  affect  the  technic  of  the  soliloquy?  Quanti- 
tatively there  is  little  difference,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
plays,  notably  Schiller's  "Die  Rauber,"  and  Miiller's  "Geno- 
veva,"  where  restraint  is  thrown  to  the  winds  and  the  soliloquy 
is  allowed  to  flood  page  after  page.  Qualitatively,  however, 
the  general  tendency  is  to  indulge  in  ranting  and  produce  weird 
excrescences  upon  the  tree  of  sane  expression.  But  whatever 
their  faults  these  soliloquies  are  for  the  most  part  highly  dra- 
matic and  virile.  They  show  many  of  the  best  traits  of  Les- 
sing's  technic  with  their  use  of  the  dialog  form,  of  apostrophe, 
frequent  pauses  and  the  presentation  of  ideas  as  they  occur  to 
the  speaker. 

Schiller's  and  Goethe's  storm  and  stress  plays  will  be  dis- 
cussed in  connection  with  their  other  dramas.  The  dramas  to 
be  considered  here  are  Klinger's  "  Die  Zwillinge,"  Leisewitz's 
"  Julius  von  Tarentum,"  Wagner's  "  Die  Kindermorderin," 
Lenz's  "Der  Hofmeister,"  and  Miiller's  "Golo  und  Genoveva."^ 

Sauer's  criticism :  "  Wie  ein  einziger  Monolog  braust  das 
StiJck  dahin,"^  is  justified  as  Guelfo  rages  through  "Die  Zwil- 
linge "  like  a  Titan  surrounded  by  pygmies.     Although  the  solil- 

3  Sturmer  und  Dranger,  3  vols.  ed.  by  A.  Sauer,  Berlin. 
2/fctd.,  Vol.  I,  p.  311. 


52 

oquies  are  not  as  numerous  as  one  might  expect,  many  of  Guel- 
fo's  speeches  hardly  bear  the  semblance  of  dialog  and  are  in 
reality  disguised  soliloquies.  So,  in  I,  2,  Guelfo  is  interrupted 
by  Grimaldi  with  "  Lieber  Guelfo,  nicht  so,"  after  he  has  torn 
a  goodly  supply  of  passion  to  tatters,  but  he  pays  absolutely  no 
attention  to  the  remark.  Eight  of  the  nine  soliloquies  fall  to 
the  share  of  Guelfo  and  all  are  hot  with  rage  and  anger,  with 
the  exception  of  the  first  half  of  his  soliloquy  at  the  end  of  Act 
III.  Exclamations,  apostrophes,  questions  and  pauses  admi- 
rably portray  his  tempest- tossed  soul.  The  following  will 
illustrate  the  style:  "Ha!  verfolgt  mich  alles?  Alle  Damonen 
und  Gespenster  der  Nacht?  Mein  boser  Geist  hangt  mir  auf 
dem  Nacken,  er  lasst  mich  nicht,  stiert  mich  aus  alien  Winkeln 
an.  Bias  zu!  Vergift  mir  jedes  Faserchen  meines  Herzens! 
Wiihl  giftig  in  meinem  Blut!  Hu!  was  martert  den  Guelfo? 
wen  will  Guelfo  martern? — Die  Glocke  ruft  dumpf,  der  Sturm 
saust  iiber  die  Tiber.  Eine  schone  Nacht! — Ferdinando,  gieb 
das  Weib !  Ferdinando  gieb  die  Erstgeburt !  "^  The  language 
throughout  leaves  the  impression  of  a  battlefield  covered  with 
the  disjecta  membra  of  the  combatants. 

Miiller's  "  Golo  und  Genoveva  "  is  top-heavy  with  soliloquies 
and  asides.  The  soliloquies  are  often  baldly  narrative  and  de- 
scriptive, but  together  with  these  expositional  speeches  we  find 
reflective  soliloquies  and  a  choice  assortment  of  emotional  out- 
bursts, mostly  by  Golo,  who  supplies  at  least  one  example  for 
every  emotion  aroused  by  unrequited  love.  The  language  every 
now  and  then  is  lost  in  a  maze  of  florid  ingredients,  as,  e.  g., 
"  Hier  will  ich  die  siisse  Luft  einschlurf en,  die  ihre  schone 
Wange  gekiihlt,  darein  sie  ihren  balsamischen  Atem  ergoss; 
begrabt  mich  hier,  wenn  ich  einst  sterbe,  mein  Leib  wird  nicht 
in  Staub  zerfallen,  alle  meine  erstarrte  Adern  werden  bald  in 
ein  neues  Leben  zuriickdringen  und  wie  Blumen  durch  die 
Erde  zu  dieser  Luft  emporschiessen. — ^Wer  doch  der  Schlum- 
mer  sein  konnte,  auf  solch  einem  Paar  Wimpern  zu  ruhen. — 
Kalter  Tod,  warmes  Leben;  alles  um  sie — die  Welt,  das  Uni- 
versum — um  einem  einzigen  Druck." 

mi,  I. 


63 

"  Schlaf   wohl    und    siiss,    Liebchen    zart, 
Auf  deinem  Mund  meine  Himmelfahrt !  "^ 

The  language  of  the  soliloquies  in  the  other  plays  mentioned 
before  is  natural  and  appropriate  to  the  characters.  In  "  Der 
Hofmeister"  and  "Die  Kindermorderin "  the  few  soliloquies 
are  interesting  because  of  the  rather  full  stage-directions  call- 
ing for  pantomime,  so,  e.  g. :  "  setzt  sich  bin  und  best  eine  Zeit 
lang";  legt  das  Buch  bin,  geht  sehr  bewegt  ein  paarmal  auf 
und  ab";  "  sucht  in  der  Tasche  und  zieht  den  Brief  heraus, 
Guckt  ihn  noch  einmal  durch."^  Silence  on  the  stage  and  silent 
expression  of  the  emotions  is  an  interesting  forerunner  of 
modem  realistic  methods.  That  soliloquies  may  have  their 
uses  is  made  clear  by  one  of  the  characters  in  "  Der  Hofmeister  " 
who  begins  to  soliloquize  in  another's  presence  and,  when  inter- 
rupted, explains :  "  Es  ist  ein  Monolog  aus  einem  Trauerspiel, 
den  ich  gern  recitiere  wenn  ich  Sorgen  habe,"^  in  other  words, 
an  efficacious  means  of  driving  dull  care  away.  The  soliloquy 
is  often  a  real  talking  to  one's  self,  as  in  "  Julius  von  Taren- 
tum,"  II,  7:  "Dummkopf,  sie  sagte  mir  ja  selbst  die  Ursach 
meiner  Kalte  " ;  V,  2,  "  Alter,  ist  das  der  Ton  eines  Richters  ?" 
In  this  play  especially  the  soliloquies  contain  frequent  pauses, 
numerous  apostrophes  and  the  dialog  form. 

3.  Schiller 
The  most  striking  fact  about  the  soliloquy  in  Schiller  is  its 
frequent  occurrence  in  the  early  plays,  especially  "  Die  Rauber," 
and  its  gradual  curtailment  and  disappearance  in  the  latter 
plays.  That  Schiller  gave  this  convention  more  than  passing 
thought  is  evidenced  in  his  preface*  to  the  "  Rauber,"  where  he 
speaks  with  approval  of  the  self-revealing  soliloquy,  the  solilo- 
quy which  acquaints  us  with  the  inmost  thoughts  and  feelings 
of  the  speaker.  To  be  sure,  he  does  not  directly  mention  the 
soliloquy,  but  he  does  speak  of  "  surprising  the  soul  as  it  were 
in  its  most  secret  movements"  (die  Seele  gleichsam  bei  ihren 

1 II,  4,  end. 

2  IV,  p.  325,  Die  Kindermorderin.     V,  beginning. 

«II,  5- 

■*  First  sentence  of  the  Vorrede. 


54 

geheimsten  Operationen  ertappen)  as  an  advantage  of  the  dra- 
matic method  and  this  undoubtedly  refers  to  the  convention  of 
the  soHloquy. 

Quite  in  accordance  with  this  statement  we  find  a  preponder- 
ance of  reflective  and  emotional  soliloquies  and  a  comparative 
■scarcity  of  the  purely  expositional  type.  In  fact,  most  of  the 
«xpositional  soliloquies  form  a  small  component  part  of  some 
'Other  type  of  soliloquy.  There  is  but  an  isolated  example  of  an 
initial  exposition  soliloquy,  and  that  does  not  occur  in  a  play 
proper  but  in  the  prolog  to  the  "  Jungf rau  von  Orleans."^  In 
it  Joan  acquaints  us  with  the  supernatural  message  which  she 
•has  received. 

Near  the  beginning  of  "  Die  Rauber  "  Franz  prefaces  a  long 
reflective  soliloquy  with  a  bit  of  self-characterization  that  leaves 
no  doubt  as  to  his  villainy,  e.  g.,  "  Da  miisst  ich  ein  erbarm- 
-licher  Stiimper  sein,  wenn  ich's  nicht  einmal  so  weit  gebracht 
hatte,  einen  Sohn  vom  Herzen  des  Vaters  loszulosen.  .  .  ."^ 
-Another  example  of  this  type  occurs  in  "  Maria  Stuart,"  where 
Elizabeth  throws  considerable  light  upon  her  character :  "  O 
Sklaverei  des  Volksdiensts !  Schmahliche  Knechtschaft — Wie 
bin  ich's  miide,  diesem  Gotzen  zu  schmeicheln,  den  mein  Inner- 
stes  verachtet!  etc."^  Apostrophes,  exclamations,  questions 
and  answers  impart  considerable  life  to  these  expositional  frag- 
ments and  raise  them  far  above  the  old  ad  spectatores  speeches. 

Narrative  soliloquies  are  scarce,  and  when  they  do  occur  they 
are  incorporated  in  a  reflective  or  emotional  speech.  In  Wal- 
lenstehi's  reflective  soliloquy.  III,  13,  we  find  quite  a  bit  of 
:-narration : 

"  Dahingeschmolzen  vor 
Der  schwed'schen   Starke  waren  eure  Heere, 
Am  Lech  sank  Tilly,  euer  letzter  Hort; 
Ins  Bayerland,  wie  ein  geschwollner  Strom, 
Ergoss  sich  dieser  Gustav,  und  zu  Wien 
In  seiner  Hofburg  zitterte  der  Kaiser, 
Soldaten  waren  teuer,  etc."* 

1  Scene  4  entire. 

2  1,    I. 

■3  IV,    10. 

4  Wallensteins  Tod.  '.: 


65 

Beatrice,  in  her  first  long  emotional  soliloquy,  also  contributes 
expositional  material  in  the  form  of  narration  beginning: 

"  Und  so  erwuchs  ich  still  am  stillen  Orte, 
In  Lebensglut  den  Schatten  beigesellt, 
Da  stand  er  plotzlich  an  des  Klosters  Pforte, 
Schon  wie  ein  Gott,  und  mannlich  wie  ein  Held."^ 

Wallenstein's  narrative  is  infused  with  dramatic  life  by  the  use 
of  the  apostrophe,  that  of  Beatrice  by  exclamation. 

A  splendid  example  of  dramatic  description  is  found  in  Lei- 
cester's soliloquy,  V,  lo,^  in  which  the  preparations  for  the 
execution  and  the  execution  itself  are  vividly  sketched: 

"...  Horch!     Was  war  das? 
Sie  sind  schon  unten  .  .  .  Unter  meinen  Fiissen 
Bereitet  sich  das  furchterliche  Werk. 
Ich  bore  Stimmen — Fort !  Hinweg !  Hinweg 
Aus  diesem  Haus  des  Schreckens  und  des  Todes ! 
Wie?     Fesselt  raich  ein  Gott  an  diesen  Boden? 
Muss  ich  anhoren,  was  mir  anzuschauen  graut? 
Die  Stimme  des  Dechanten — Er  ermahnet  sie — 
Sie  unterbricht  ihn — Horch  ! — Laut  betet  sie — 
Mit  fester  Stimme — Es  wird  still — Ganz  still ! 
Nur  schluchzen  hor'  ich  und  die  Weiber  weinen — 
Sie   wird   entkleidet — Horch !     Der   Schemel   wird 
Geriickt — Sie  kniet  aufs  Kissen — legt  das  Haupt — " 

Other  examples  worthy  of  mention  are  "  Maria  Stuart,"  IV, 
lo,  where  Elizabeth  depicts  the  dangers  that  threaten  her  on 
every  side ;  "  Die  Jungf rau  von  Orleans,"  IV,  beginning,  where 
Joan  describes  the  festivities  inRheims;  II,  6,  of  the  same  play, 
where  Montgomery  describes  the  approach  of  the  battling 
maiden. 

The  speaker's  intention  usually  forms  the  conclusion  of  a 
reflective  or  deliberative  soliloquy  and  is  short  as  a  rule: 
"Fiesco,"  II,  8,  II,  19,  III,  2,  V,  i ;  ''Maria  Stuart,"  IV,  10; 
"Jungf  rau,"  III,  9;  "  Kabale  und  Liebe,"  I,  7;  "  Wallensteins 
Tod,"  III,  13.  When  Franz  Moor  learns  of  his  father's  death 
he  indulges  in  a  lengthy  instructive  outburst  which  illustrates 

1  Die  Braut  von  Messina. 

2  Maria  Stuart. 


56 

the  ranting  unnatural  style  so  characteristic  of  "  Die  Rauber  " : 
"  Nun  sollt  ihr  den  nackten  Franz  sehen  und  euch  entsetzen ! 
Meine  Augenbrauen  sollen  iiber  euch  herhangen  wie  Gewitter- 
wolken,  mein  herrischer  Name  schweben  wie  ein  drohender 
Komet  iiber  diesen  Gebirgen,  meine  Stirne  soil  euer  Wetterglas 
sein !  Er  streichelte  und  koste  den  Nacken,  der  gegen  ihn 
storrig  zuriickschlug,  Streicheln  und  kosen  ist  meine  Sache 
nicht.  Ich  will  euch  die  zackichten  Sporen  ins  Fleisch  hauen, 
und  die  scharfe  Geissel  versuchen.  ...  In  meinem  Gebiet 
soil's  so  weit  kommen,  dass  Kartoffeln  und  diinn  Bier  ein 
Traktament  fiir  Festtage  werden,  und  wehe  dem,  der  mir  mit 
vollen,  feurigen  Backen  unter  die  Augen  tritt!  Blasse  der 
Armut  und  sklavischen  Furcht  sind  meine  Leibfarbe ;  in  diese 
Liverei  will  ich  euch  kleiden  !"^ 

Thought  soliloquies,  especially  of  the  reflective  variety, 
greatly  outnumber  the  expositional  type,  and  every  play  fur- 
nishes one  or  more  examples.  In  "  Die  Rauber "  Franz  is 
especially  obliging  in  the  matter  of  taking  the  audience  into  his 
confidence  and  unfolding  his  crassly  materialistic  point  of  view, 
his  heartless  villainy,  his  cringing  cowardice.  In  his  first  long- 
winded  soliloquy  he  reveals  his  attitude  toward  life,  practically 
a  negation  of  all  ties  which  hold  society  together.  One  by  one 
he  takes  up  and  coolly  disposes  of  reputation,  conscience,  etc. : 
"  Gewissen — o  ja  freilich!  ein  tiichtiger  Lumpenmann,  Sper- 
linge  von  Kirschbaumen  wegzuschrecken !  ...  In  der  That 
sehr  lobenswiirdige  Anstalten  die  Narren  im  Respekt  und  den 
Pobel  unter  dem  Pantoffel  zu  halten,  datnit  die  Gescheiten  es 
desto  bequemer  haben."^  In  spite  of  its  great  length  the  soHloquy 
is  not  without  dramatic  life.  Apostrophes  are  frequent,  ques- 
tions follow  each  other  in  breathless  haste,  sometimes  five  or 
six  before  an  answer  is  vouchsafed:  "  Warum  hat  er  mich 
gemacht?  doch  wohl  nicht  gar  aus  Liebe  zu  mir,  der  erst  ein 
Ich  werden  sollte  ?  Hat  er  mich  gekannt  ehe  er  mich  machte  ? 
Oder  hat  er  mich  gedacht  wie  er  mich  machte?  Oder  hat  er 
mich  gewiinscht,  da  er  mich  machte?  Wusste  er  was  ich 
werden  wiirde?    Das  wollte  ich   ihm   nicht  raten."^    Qcca- 

1  Die  Rauber,  II,  2  end. 

2  1,1. 


57 

sional  interruptions  in  the  flow  of  thought  also  show  a  desire 
to  secure  verisimilitude.  In  the  same  act  Karl  reflects  upon  the 
degeneracy  of  the  times  in  a  speech  that  is  permeated  with 
disgust  and  indignation  and  characterized  by  terrible  ranting.^ 
The  soliloquy  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  act,  partly  reflect- 
ive, partly  deliberative,  suffers  from  the  insertion  of  medical 
lore  in  the  reflective  portion,  but  is  otherwise  dramatic.  The 
other  reflective  speeches  in  this  play  are  made  more  or  less  dra- 
matic by  the  use  of  exclamations,  questions  and  answers,  and 
pauses. - 

The  short  reflective  soliloquies  in  "  Fiesco  "  form  quite  a  con- 
trast to  the  lengthy  outpourings  in  "  Die  Rauber."  Their  brev- 
ity might  tempt  one  to  regard  them  as  link  soliloquies,  but  they 
serve  a  dramatic  purpose  by  characterizing  the  speaker  or  by 
showing  his  attitude.  Fiesco  delivers  most  of  these  speeches, 
usually  at  the  end  of  a  scene :  "  Dieser  Republikaner  ist  hart 
wie  Stahl."  "  Wenn  diese  Flammen  ins  Vaterland  schlagen, 
mogen  die  Doria  feste  stehen."  Other  instances  occur  in  I,  2 ; 
II,  16;  111,6;  V,  I. 

It  would  lead  too  far  afield  to  take  up  all  the  reflective  solilo- 
quies. Among  the  more  noteworthy^  are  Eboli's  dramatic  speech 
when  Don  Karlos  spurns  her  love,*  Wallenstein's  long  soliloquy 
when  he  realizes  that  he  has  hopelessly  involved  himself,^  Lei- 
cester's speech  after  his  unmasking  by  Burleigh,^  Tell's  famous 
soliloquy  in  the  hollow  way.^  The  length  of  Tell's  speech  is  a 
little  surprising  at  first  sight,  but,  let  us  remember  that  we  are 
dealing  with  a  soliloquy,  not  with  dialog.  In  dialog  his  loqua- 
ciousness would  be  surprising,  but  here  it  is  simply  a  case  of 
his  thoughts  being  made  audible  as  he  is  waiting  to  kill  Gessler. 
This  reflective  speech  contains  no  element  of  conflict;  no  at- 

u,  2. 

2  I,  end ;  IV,  2  by  Franz ;  IV,  2,  end  by  Franz ;  IV,  4. 

3  Other  examples:  Kabale  und  Liebe,  I,  6;  IV,  8;  Don  Karlos,  I,  i; 
II,  9;  III,  i;  III,  5;  IV,  6.  Piccolomini,  II,  5;  III,  9;  Wallensteins  Tod, 
II,  4;  II,  s;  III,  13.  Jungfrau,  II,  8;  III,  9;  Braut  v.  Messina,  beg.  of 
Sc.  2  partly;  Tell,  II,  i  end. 

♦  Don  Karlos,  II,  9- 

5  Wallensteins  Tod,  I,  4. 

6  Maria  Stuart,  IV,  4. 

7  Wilhelm  Tell,  IV,  3. 


58 

tempt  is  made  to  reach  a  decision,  no  defense  of  his  intended 
action  is  made.  His  decision  is  previously  made  and  he  is 
absolutely  convinced  of  the  righteousness  of  his  undertaking. 
The  form  is  practically  that  of  a  dialog  and  consequently  highly 
dramatic.  Practically  a  third  of  it  is  an  apostrophe  to  Gess- 
ler,  and  throughout  the  remainder  of  the  soliloquy  apostrophes 
are  made  now  to  his  arrow  and  bowstring,  now  to  his  children. 
Purely  deliberative  soliloquies  are  rather  infrequent,  inasmuch 
as  the  speaker's  emotional  nature  usually  crops  to  the  surface 
and  puts  an  end  to  calm  deliberation  and  a  cool  unimpassioned 
weighing  of  the  pros  and  cons.  Franz  Moor's  solution  of  the 
problem  of  committing  murder  legally  admirably  illustrates  the 
deliberative  type.  The  problem  is  stated :  "  Wer  es  verstiinde 
dem  Tod  diesen  ungebahnten  Weg  in  das  Schloss  des  Lebens 
zu  ebnen?  den  Korper  vom  Geist  aus  zu  verderben  ...  ha! 
ein  Originalwerk !  wer  das  zu  Stand  brachte  ?  "  His  perplexity 
is  removed  little  by  little  by  a  careful  weighing  of  all  possible 
solutions,  till  the  one  eminently  satisfactory  weapon  is  found: 
"Zorn?  .  ,  .  dieser  heisshungrige  Wolf  frisst  sich  zu  schnell 
satt  .  .  .  Sorge?  .  .  .  dieser  Wurm  nagt  mir  zu  langsam  .  .  . 
Gram?  .  .  .  diese  Natter  schleicht  mir  zu  trage — Furcht? 
...  die  Hoffnung  lasst  sie  nicht  umgreifen  .  .  .  Was?  sind 
das  all  die  Henker  des  Menschen?  ...  1st  das  Arsenal  des 
Todes  so  bald  erschojpft?  .  .  .  (Tiefsinnend)  Wie?  .  .  . 
Nun?  .  .  .  Was?  Nein!  Ha!  (Auffahrend)  Schreck!— Was 
kann  der  Schreck  nicht  ?  .  .  .  Und  doch  ?  Wenn  er  auch  diesem 
Sturm  stiinde?  .  .  .  Wenn  er?  etc."^  The  final  decision  is 
worked  out  as  well  as  any  of  Lessing's.  The  suspense,  the 
mental  groping,  the  flashlike  decision,  remind  us  of  Nathan's 
decision  in  his  famous  soliloquy.  To  be  sure  the  ranting  spoils 
the  good  effect.  Posa's  soliloquy  immediately  before  his  inter- 
view with  the  king  is  moulded  along  the  lines  of  Nathan's  speech 
prior  to  his  interview  with  the  Sultan  and  avoids  Moor's  rant- 
ing. Posa  is  perplexed  at  being  summoned  by  the  king.  "Wie 
komm  ich  aber  hieher?  Eigensinn  des  launenhaften  Zufalls 
war  es  nur,  was  mir  mein  Bild  in  diesen  Spiegeln  zeigte?  .  .  . 

1  Die  Rauber,  II,  i. 


Ein  Zufall  nur  ?"  After  due  deliberation  he  reaches  a  decision : 
"  Was  der  Konig  mit  mir  auch  wollen  mag,  gleichviel ! — Ich 
weiss,  was  ich  .  .  .  ich  mit  dem  Konig  soil — und  war's  auch 
eine  Feuerflocke  Wahrheit  nur.  .  .  ."^  The  Moor's  soliloquy 
in  Fiesco^  differs  from  these  in  that  it  reaches  no  decision. 

When  the  speaker's  emotions  intrude  upon  his  calm  delibera- 
tion, when  head  gives  way  to  the  heart,  the  way  is  paved 
for  a  soliloquy  in  which  the  struggle  between  conflicting  ideas 
and  emotions  is  depicted,  in  short,  a  conflict  soliloquy.  Fiesco 
passes  through  two  such  struggles.  In  the  first  conflict^  be- 
tween his  selfishness  and  his  altruism  the  latter  is  victorious  and 
he  decides  to  renounce  his  ambition  for  the  good  of  the  state. 
The  opening  lines  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  type  of  soliloquy : 
"Welch  ein  Aufruhr  in  meiner  Brust!  welche  heimliche  Flucht 
der  Gedanken.  .  .  ."  In  his  second  inner  struggle*  Fiesco 
vacillates  for  some  time  between  obeying  and  ruling,  but  finally 
decides  in  favor  of  the  hammer  rather  than  the  anvil.  Here 
too  the  inner  unrest  is  pointed  out  near  the  opening  of  the 
soHloquy:  "Wilde  Phantasien  haben  meinen  Schlaf  aufge- 
schwelgt  .  .  .  mein  ganzes  Wesen  krampfig  um  eine  Empfind- 
ung  gewalzt.  .  .  ."  Joan's  conflict  between  love  and  duty,^ 
Karl  Moor's  "  to  be  or  not  to  be  "  soliloquy,''  Amalia's  struggle 
after  she  has  spoken  to  Karl,^  and  the  latter's  conflict  as  he  sees 
the  scenes  of  his  childhood  after  a  long  absence,®  are  other 
examples  of  this  type.^ 

Philosophic  utterances  frequently  form  a  small  component 
part  of  a  reflective  soliloquy,  especially  in  the  later  dramas. 
The  most  noteworthy  example,  as  well  as  the  longest,  is  Wallen- 
stein's  reflection  on  custom  :^° 

1  Don  Karlos,  III,  9. 

2  Fiesco,  III,  7. 

3  Die  Verschworung  des  Fiesco,  II,  19. 

4  Fiesco,  III,  2. 

5  Die  Jungfrau,  v.  O,  IV,  beg. 

6  Die  Rauber,  IV,  5. 

7  Ibid.,  IV,  4- 
sibid..  IV.  I. 

9  Two  soliloquies  in  Demetrius. 

10  Wallensteins  Tod,  I,  4. 


60 

"  Nicht  was  lebendig,  kraftvoll  sich  verkundigt, 
1st  das  gefahrlich  Furchtbare.     Das  ganz 
Gemeine  ist's,  das  ewig  Gestrige, 
Was  immer  war  und  immer  wiederkehret 
Und  morgen  gilt,  weil's  heute  hat  gegolten ! 
Denn  aus  Gemeinem  ist  der  Mensch  gemacht, 
Und  die  Gewohnheit  nennt  er  seine  Amme. 
Weh  dem,  der  an  den  wiirdig  alten  Hausrat 
Ihm  riihrt,  das  teure  Erbstiick  seiner  Ahnen !  " 

In  the  face  of  death  Talbot  philosophizes  as  follows : 

"  So  geht  der  Mensch  zu  Ende — und  die  einzige 
Ausbeute,  die  wir  aus  dem  Kampf  des  Lebens 
Wegtragen  ist  die  Einsicht  in  das  Nichts 
Und  herzliche  Verachtung  alles  dessen, 
Was  uns  erhaben  schien  und  wiinschenswert.  .  .  ."^ 

Other  examples  occur  in  "Don  Karlos,"  III,  9;  "Maria  Stu- 
art," II,  6;  IV,  10;  "  Wilhelm  Tell,"  II,  i. 

Emotional  soliloquies  are  especially  numerous  in  "  Die  Rau- 
ber,"  and  the  early  dramas  are  all  characterized  by  the  most 
unnatural  florid  style.  So,  e.  g.,  when  Karl  Moor  realizes  his 
brother's  colossal  knavery,  he  regales  us  with  an  allegro  furi- 
oso  on  the  theme  Spitzbube,  with  several  variations.^  Fiesco 
contributes  this  inimitable  bit  when  he  discovers  his  murdered 
wife:  "Ah,  (mit  frechem  Zahneblecken  gen  Himmel)  hatt  ich 
nur  seinen  Weltbau  zwischen  diesen  Zahnen — ich  fuhlte  mich 
aufgelegt,  die  ganze  Natur  in  ein  grinsendes  Scheusal  zu  zer- 
kratzen,  bis  sie  aussieht  wie  mein  Schmerz."^  Such  examples 
might  be  multiplied  ad  libitum  but  would  serve  no  purpose. 
The  later  dramas  furnish  more  examples  of  thought  soliloquies 
with  the  exception  of  "  Die  Braut  von  Messina"  in  which  three 
of  the  four  soliloquies  are  of  the  emotional  type.  The  diction 
of  these  soliloquies  like  that  of  the  entire  play  is  lofty  and 
highly  poetic. 

Pantomime  by  an  actor  left  alone  on  the  stage  as  a  means  of 
expressing  his  emotions  has  largely  supplanted  the  soliloquy  in 

1  Jungfrau,  III,  6. 

2  Die  Rauber,  IV,  3. 
s  Fiesco,  V,   13. 


61 

the  modern  realistic  drama.  Schiller  realizes  the  value  of  pan- 
tomime and  frequently  inserts  stage-directions  in  his  soliloquies 
calling  for  it.  Yet  he  does  not  attempt  to  supplant  the  solilo- 
quy by  pantomime,  but  wisely  makes  it  an  efifective  servant. 
There  is  but  one  noteworthy  instance  where  a  character  is  left 
alone  on  the  stage  without  delivering  the  expected  soliloquy. 
The  overpowering  grief  is  here  expressed  by  silent  pantomime 
which  is  far  more  effective  than  a  long  outburst  would  be.  The 
stage-directions  read :  "  Wallenstein  leaves.  The  servant  lights 
the  way.  Seni  follows.  Gordon  remains  standing  in  the  dark- 
ness, looking  after  the  duke  until  he  has  disappeared  in  the  fur- 
thest corridor;  then  he  expresses  his  grief  by  gestures  and 
leans  sorrowfully  against  a  column."^  One  of  the  most  com- 
mon stage-directions  found  in  the  soliloquies  is  that  calling  for 
silence,  which  shows  that  Schiller  realized  that  the  mind  does 
not  work  with  clock-like  precision  and  that  the  flow  of  thought 
is  frequently  interrupted.  "  Nach  einem  langen  Tief schweigen ; 
Pause ;  grosse  Pause ;  in  Tief sinn  versunken ;  bleibt  tief sinnig 
stehen;  geht  tiefdenkend  auf  und  nieder,"  are  the  most  fre- 
quently used  directions  and  are  especially  numerous  in  the  first 
four  plays.  All  of  the  eight  directions  found  in  "  Wallenstein  " 
and  the  succeeding  dramas  call  for  silence. 

Summing  up  then  we  find  that  the  soliloquy  after  running 
riot  in  "  Die  Rauber,"  both  quantitatively  and  stylistically,  grad- 
ually subsides  and  shows  marked  moderation  along  both  lines. 
Although  "  Fiesco  "  and  "  Kabale  und  Liebe  "  combined  do  not 
give  as  much  space  to  the  soliloquy  as  "  Die  Rauber,"  the  style 
employed  is  still  characterized  by  ranting  and  florid  outbursts 
and  the  tendency  towards  sane  expression  is  slight  indeed.  In 
"  Don  Karlos  "  on  the  other  hand,  the  style  of  the  soliloquies  is 
natural  and  free  from  ornamentation.  In  the  later  dramas  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  they  are  clothed  in  verse,  the  prevalence 
of  natural  diction  and  the  comparative  absence  of  rhetorical 
embelHshments  in  the  soliloquies  is  noteworthy.  The  most 
striking  fact  about  the  solilcKiuies  however  is  their  dramatic 
form.     Practically  only  such  passages  as  embody  philosophic 

1  Wallensteins  Tod,  V,  5  end. 


62 

generalizations  might  be  termed  undramatic,  all  others  throb 
with  life.  Schiller  is  especially  happy  in  his  use  of  the  dialog 
form,  in  his  habit  of  making  the  soliloqu}^  a  real  speaking  to 
one's  self.  When  this  duality  of  the  speaker  is  not  in  evidence 
the  skillful  use  of  apostrophe  again  imparts  this  dialog  element 
to  the  speeches.  Question  and  answer,  exclamations  and  apos- 
trophe never  permit  the  soliloquy  to  degenerate  into  a  lifeless 
narration  of  facts  and  feelings. 

4.  Goethe 

Unquestioning  acceptance  of  the  soliloquy  in  all  its  forms 
characterizes  Goethe's  use  of  the  convention.  In  his  second 
dramatic  effort,  "  Die  IMitschuldigen,"  which  shows  a  profusion 
of  soliloquies  and  asides,  Goethe  seems  to  have  seen  the  absurd- 
ity of  this  prodigality  and  pokes  fun  at  it  by  saying :  "  Ohne 
viel  Raison  giebt's  manchen  Monolog."^  Although  his  second 
version  of  "  Gotz  "  contains  fewer  soliloquies  than  the  first,  it 
is  not  due  to  the  fact  that  the  soliloquies  troubled  him,  but 
rather  to  the  fact  that  Adelheid  had  been  too  much  in  the  lime- 
light and  had  become  too  prominent  in  the  play.  In  order  to 
readjust  the  play  and  lessen  the  emphasis  placed  upon  this  char- 
acter, some  of  the  soliloquies  were  discarded.  On  the  other' 
hand,  the  first  part  of  "  Faust "  is  richer  in  soliloquies  than  the 
original  version  known  as  the  "  Urfaust."  The  gradual  elimi- 
nation of  soliloquies  noticeable  in  Schiller  is  not  in  evidence  in 
Goethe's  dramas;  quite  the  contrary,  Goethe's  later  plays  em- 
ploy this  convention  more  freely  if  anything  than  the  early  dra- 
matic works.  The  most  notable  change  in  the  soliloquies  as  we 
follow  the  plays  chronologically  is  the  gradual  transition  from 
a  dramatic  mold  to  one  that  is  lyric  and  elegiac. 

Initial  exposition  soliloquies  are  employed  in  "  Die  Geschwis- 
ter,"  "  Iphigenie,"  and  "  Faust."  Of  the  three  only  that  in  the 
first  mentioned  is  baldly  expositional,  and  it  is  rather  crudely 
epic,  being  relieved  only  by  an  expression  of  the  speaker's  love 
for  Marianne  in  the  form  of  an  impassioned  apostrophe  and  the 
portrayal  of  the  doubts  that  arise  in  his  mind  as  to  her  love  for 

mi,  8. 


him.  The  conflicting  emotions  and  his  decision  are  dramati- 
cally depicted :  "  O  Marianne !  wenn  du  wiisstest,  dass  der,  den 
du  fiir  deinen  Bruder  haltst,  dass  der  mit  ganz  anderm  Herzen, 
ganz  andern  Hoffnungen  fiir  dich  arbeitet !  .  .  .  Vielleicht ! 
.  .  .  Ach!  Es  ist  doch  bitter  .  .  .  Sie  liebt  mich  .  .  .  ja,  als 
Bruder  ,  .  .  Nein,  pfui!  das  ist  wieder  Unglaube,  und  der  hat 
nie  was  Gutes  gestiftet.  .  .  .  Marianne!  ich  werde  gliicklich 
sein,  du  wirst's  sein,  Marianne !"  The  initial  soliloquy  in 
"  Iphigenie  "  on  the  other  hand  is  so  permeated  with  her  grief, 
her  unhappiness  and  her  hopes,  not  to  forget  the  philosophical 
admixture,  that  the  expositional  matter  is  hidden  by  a  veil,  as  it 
were.  The  exposition  in  Faust's  soliloquy  is  also  entirely  sub- 
ordinated to  the  emotional  element.  After  revealing  his  hopeless 
mood,  his  dissatisfaction  with  his  present  condition :  "  Es  mochte 
kein  Hund  so  langer  leben,"  the  soliloquy  reveals  his  ardent  long- 
ing for  life  and  love.  Realizing  his  failure  as  a  scholar,  Faust 
casts  aside  that  hitherto  dominant  interest  and  pleads  for  emo- 
tional participation  in  life.  The  grim  bitterness  of  the  intro- 
duction gives  way  to  a  passage  of  great  lyric  warmth  and  beauty 
which  is  followed  by  another  outburst  of  disgust  and  the  exe- 
cution of  the  plan  to  call  magic  to  his  aid.  The  approach  of 
the  Erdgeist  is  very  vividly  described,  especially  where  he 
arouses  himself  with  ahnost  superhuman  effort:  "  Du  musst! 
du  musst,  und  kostet  es  mein  Leben !  "  The  speech  then  is  rather 
an  exposition  of  mental  state  than  of  facts,  a  highly  subjective 
soliloquy.  Epimetheus's  opening  soliloquy  in  "  Pandora  "  might 
also  be  termed  a  soliloquy  of  mental  state,  as  it  is  for  the  most 
part  reflective  and  only  incidentally  expositional.  The  bit  of 
self-identification  in  this  speech  is  interesting: 

"  Denn  Epimetheus  nannten  mich  die  Zeugenden, 
Vergangnem  nachzusinnen,  Raschgeschehenes 
Zuriickzufiihren,  miihsamen  Gedankenspiels, 
Zum  triiben  Reich  gestalten-mischender  Moglichkeit." 

In  a  few  of  the  fragments  expositional  soliloquies  are  found, 
e.  g.,  in  "  Nausikaa,"  I,  2,  where  Ulysses  briefly  alludes  to  his 
wanderings ;  in  "  Die  Aufgeregten  "  and  in  "  Bruchstiicke  einer 
Tragodie"  which  was  not  written  out  but  merely  outlined. 


64 

The  third  act  of  the  second  part  of  "  Faust "  opens  with  an  ex- 
positional  soliloquy  by  Helena  in  the  style  of  a  Greek  tragedy. 

Instances  of  identification  are  rare  in  the  soliloquies.  Aside 
from  the  example  in  "  Pandora,"  in  which  Epimetheus  intro- 
duces himself,  there  are  two  instances  in  the  second  part  of 
"Faust,"  in  which  Erichtho  and  Helen  introduce  themselves. 
In  the  opening  soliloquy  of  "  Iphigenie  "  and  the  first  soliloquy 
in  "  Nausikaa  "  the  identity  of  the  speaker  is  revealed  without 
the  actual  mentioning  of  the  name. 

The  best  of  the  few  examples  of  self-characterization  is  that 
of  Brackenburg  in  "  Egmont,"  in  which  he  contrasts  his  boyish 
traits  with  his  present  characteristics.^  But  even  this  forms  but 
a  small  part  of  a  reflective  soliloquy,  as  is  the  case  with  the  other 
characterizing  bits,  e.  g.,  "  Ich  habe  nicht  gelernt  zu  hinter- 
halten,  noch  jemand  etwas  abzulisten."^ 

Descriptive  soliloquies  are  of  frequent  occurrence,  especially 
in  the  second  part  of  "  Faust,"  the  second  act  of  which  has  as 
many  as  nine  of  this  type.  Weislingen's  speech  as  he  is  dying 
is  only  partially  relieved  by  a  dramatic  expression  of  remorse 
at  having  condemned  Gotz  to  death :  "  Ich  bin  so  krank,  so 
schwach.  AUe  meine  Gebeine  sind  hohl.  Ein  elendes  Fieber 
hat  das  Mark  ausgefressen.  Keine  Ruh'  und  Rast,  weder  Tag 
noch  Nacht.  Im  halben  Schlummer  giftige  Traume.  .  .  . 
Matt !  Matt !  Wie  sind  meine  Nagel  so  blau ! — Ein  kalter,  kalter, 
verzehrender  Schweiss  lahmt  mir  jedes  Glied.  Es  dreht  mir 
alles  vorm  Gesicht.  Konnt'  ich  schlaf en !  "^  Shorter  descrip- 
tions, especially  of  occurrences  ofif  the  stage,  are  less  crude,  as, 
e.  g.,  Lerse's :  "  Gotzen  zu  Hiilf !  Er  ist  fast  umringt.  Braver 
Selbitz,  du  hast  schon  Luft  gemacht,"^  or  Gotz  at  the  window : 
"Aha!  ein  rotrockiger  Schurke,  der  uns  die  Frage  vorlegen 
wird,  ob  wir  Hundsf otter  sein  wollen."^  Or  "Gott  sei  Dank! 
Dort  seh  ich  Feuer,  sind  Zigeuner.  Meine  Wunden  verbluten, 
die  Feinde  hinterher.  Heiliger  Gott,  du  endigst  grasslich  mit 
mir !  "«     In  "  Stella  "  the  description  at  the  window  is  infused 

1  I,  end. 

2  Iphigenie,  IV,   i. 

3  Gotz,  IV,  10. 
4G6tz,  III,  II. 
6  Gotz,  III,  i6. 
6  Gotz,  V,  6. 


65 

with  some  dramatic  life  by  an  emotional  admixture  and  fre- 
quent apostrophes.  "So  seh  ich  dich  wieder?  Den  Schau- 
platz  all  meiner  Gliickseligkeit !  Wie  still  das  ganze  Haus  ist ! 
Kein  Fenster  offen !  Die  Galerie  wie  ode,  auf  der  wir  so  oft 
zusammen  sassen !  Merk  dir's  Fernando,  das  klosterliche  An- 
sehn  ihrer  Wohnung,  wie  schmeichelt  es  deinen  Hoffnungen."'- 
In  "  Egmont "  the  princess  rather  baldly  describes  the  unsettled 
condition  of  the  Netherlands,^  but  later  in  the  same  play  Alba 
delivers  a  dramatic  description  at  the  window :  "  Er  ist  es ! 
Egmont! — Trug  dich  dein  Pferd  so  leicht  herein  und  scheute 
vor  dem  Blutgeruche  nicht,  und  vor  dem  Geiste  mit  dem  blan- 
ken  Schwert,  der  an  der  Pforte  dich  empfangt? — Steig  ab! — 
So  bist  du  mit  einem  Fuss  im  Grab !  und  so  mit  beiden ! — ^Ja, 
streichl'  es  nur  und  klopfe  fur  seinen  mutigen  Dienst  zum  letzten 
Male  den  Nacken  ihm — Und  mir  bleibt  keine  Wahl."^  Euge- 
nie's description  of  the  preparations  made  for  her  departure,* 
Faust's  descriptive  bits  in  his  first  two  soliloquies,  his  rapturous 
outburst  after  seeing  Gretchen,  Gretchen's  description  of  the 
jewels,  all  are  enlivened  by  an  emotional  admixture.  The  de- 
scriptive soliloquies  in  the  second  part  of  "  Faust "  on  the  other 
hand  are  quite  undramatic  and  unnecessarily  retard  the  action. 
A  few  of  these  speeches  are  characterized  by  great  stylistic 
beauty  and  their  marvellous  word  painting  makes  one  forget 
their  dramatic  shortcomings.     For  example: 

"  In  Dammerschein  liegt  schon  die  Welt  erschlossen 
Der  Wald  ertont  von  tausendstimmigem  Leben, 
Tal  aus,  Tal  ein  ist  Nebelstreif  ergossen, 
Doch  senkt  sich  Himmelsklarheit  in  die  Tiefen, 
Und  Zweig'  und  Aste,  frisch  erquickt,  entsprossen 
Dem  duft'gen  Abgrund,  wo  versenkt  sie  schliefen; 
Auch  Farb'  an  Farbe  klart  sich  los  vom  Grunde, 
Wo  Blum'  und  Blatt  von  Zitterperle  triefen, 
Ein  Paradies  wird  um  mich  her  die  Runde."^ 

1  Stella,  I,  2. 

2  Egmont,  I,  2. 

3  Egmont,  IV,  2. 

4  Die  Natiirliche  Tochter,  V,  6. 

5  Faust,  Part  II,   i,  opening  sol. 


66 

Faust's  opening  soliloquy  in  the  fourth  act  is  another  instance 
of  lyric  beauty.  Other  speeches  however  lack  the  saving  grace 
of  formal  beauty,  as,  e.  g.,  Mephisto's  soliloquy  in  the  second 
act: 

"  Blick'  ich  hinauf,  hierher,  hiniiber, 

Allunverandert  ist  es,  unversehrt; 

Die  bunten  Scheiben  sind,  so  diinkt  mich,  triiber, 

Die  Spinneweben  haben  sich  vermehrt; 

Die  Tinte  starrt,  vergilbt  ist  das  Papier; 

Doch  alles  ist  am  Ratz  geblieben; 

Sogar  die  Feder  liegt  noch  hier, 

Mit  welcher  Faust  dem  Teufel  sich  verschrieben. 

Ja!  tiefer  in  dem  Rohre  stockt 

Ein  Tropflein  Blut,  wie  ich's  ihm  abgelockt."^ 

Purely  narrative  soliloquies  are  infrequent,  and  it  is  ex- 
ceptional to  find  such  an  ad  spectatores  speech  as  Sickingen's : 
"  Es  geht  alles  nach  Wunsch ;  sie  war  etwas  bestiirzt  iiber 
meinen  Antrag  und  sah  mich  vom  Kopf  bis  auf  die  Fiisse  an; 
ich  wette  sie  verglich  mich  mit  ihrem  Weissfisch.  Gott  sei  Dank, 
dass  ich  mich  stellen  darf.  Sie  antwortete  wenig  und  durch- 
einander;  desto  besser!"^  Epimetheus's  second  soliloquy  in 
"  Pandora,"  in  which  he  relates  his  first  meeting  with  Pandora 
at  some  length  is  entirely  narrative.  But  generally  the  narra- 
tive passages  are  brief  and  form  but  a  portion  of  some  other 
type  of  soliloquy,  as  in  "  Iphigenie,"  where  this  narrative  bit  is 
incorporated  in  a  reflective  soliloquy: 

"Jetzt  gehn  sie,  ihren  Anschlag  auszufiihren, 
Der  See  zu,  wo  das  Schiff  mit  den  Gefahrten 
In  einer  Bucht  versteckt  aufs  Zeichen  lauert, 
Und  haben  kluges  Wort  mir  in  den  Mund 
Gegeben,  mich  gelehrt,  was  ich  dem  Konig 
Antworte,  wenn  er  sendet  und  das  Opfer 
Mir  dringender  gebietet."  » 

Marthe's  recital  of  her  husband's  desertion,*  Brackenburg's 
mention  of  his  attempted  suicide,^  Sophie's  mention  of  her 

1  Faust,  Part  II,  II,  beg. 

2  Gotz,  III,  4. 

8  IV,   I. 

4  Faust,  I,  p.  J  28,  ed.  by  Heinemann. 

5  Egmont,  I,  end. 


67 

marriage  with  Seller/  Breme's  narration  of  his  plans,^  are 
other  instances  of  the  above  mentioned  amalgamation  of  a  nar- 
rative passage  with  a  reflective  or  some  other  type  of  soliloquy. 
Soliloquies  whose  prime  purpose  is  to  acquaint  us  with  the 
speaker's  intention  are  infrequent.  For  the  most  part  the  in- 
tention is  the  result  of  reflection  or  inner  conflict  and  is  made  ai 
mere  appendix  to  a  soliloquy  of  that  type,  as  was  the  custom  in 
Lessing  and  Schiller.  Egle's  soliloquy  in  "  Die  Laune  des 
Verliebten  "  illustrates  the  purely  intentional  type : 

"  Schon  gut !    Wir  wollen  sehn !     Schon  lange  wiinscht'  ich  mir 
Gelegenheit  und  Gluck,  den  Schafer  zu  bekehren. 
Heut  wird  mein  Wunsch  erfullt;  wart'  nur,  ich  will  dich  lehren 
Dir  zeigen,  wer  du  hist ;  und  wenn  du  dann  sie  plagst !  "^ 

Or  Gotz's :  "  Wir  wollen  ihre  Geduld  fiirn  Narren  halten,  und 
ihre  Tapferkeit  sollen  sie  mir  an  ihren  eigenen  Nageln  ver- 
kauen."*  Practically  every  drama  has  examples  of  soliloquies 
with  intentional  appendices,  generally  soliloquies  of  the  re- 
flective type.^  In  "  Gotz,"  e.  g.,  Franz  after  comparing  Maria 
and  Adelheid  in  a  reflective  soliloquy  ends  with :  "  Mein  Herr 
muss  hin!  Ich  muss  hin!  Und  da  will  ich  mich  wieder  ge-- 
scheit  oder  vollig  rasend  gaffen."®  Or  Mephistopheles,  after- 
reflecting  about  reason  and  science  and  Faust's  character,  an^ 
nounces  his  intention  as  follows: 

"  Den  schlepp'  ich  durch  das  wilde  Leben, 
Durch  flache  Unbedeutenheit, 
Er  soil  mir  zappeln,  starren,  kleben, 
Und  seiner  Unersattlichkeit 
Soil  Speis'  und  Trank  vor  gier'gen  Lippen  schweben ;  "'' 

1  Die  Mitschuldigen,  I,  3.  , 

2  Die  Aufgeregten,  I,  5. 

3  Die  Laune  des  Verliebten,  Sc.  8. 

4  Gotz,  III,  17. 

5  Die  Laune  des  Verliebten,  Sc.  5.  Die  Mitschuldigen,  I,  7 ;  II,  5. 
Gotz,  I,  2 ;  I,  s  ;  I,  end ;  II,  7 ;  IV,  4.  Clavigo,  IV,  beginning.  Die  Ge- 
schwister,  Fabrice's  sol.,  p.  344,  ed.  Bibliographisches  Inst.  Egmont,  III, 
beg.  Iphigenie,  I,  2 ;  II,  end.  Tasso,  III,  5  ;  IV,  3.  Naturliche  Tochter, 
II,  2;  V,  8.  Faust,  I,  second  sol.  in  scene:  Nacht:  Studierzimmer  (2), 
Faust,  II,  V,  end  of  scene :  Mittemacht. 

6  Gotz,  I,  end. 

7  Faust,  I,   Studierzimmer   (2). 


68 

The  remaining  examples  of  soliloquies  containing  the  speaker's 
intention  are  mostly  conflict  soliloquies  in  which  a  decision  is 
reached  and  the  plan  of  action  announced.^ 

Practically  all  of  the  reflective  soliloquies  just  mentioned  are 
infused  witli  dramatic  life  by  the  judicious  employment  of  ex- 
clamations, apostrophes,  and  the  dialog  form.  This  is  true  even 
of  the  later  poetic  dramas,  where  the  atmosphere  of  lyric  beauty 
aflForded  more  than  a  passing  temptation  to  cast  the  speaker's 
reflections  in  a  lyric  rather  than  a  dramatic  mold.  With  the 
exception  of  a  few  isolated  passages,  so  notably  in  "  Faust,"^ 
Goethe  successfully  combats  this  temptation  and  infuses  the 
soliloquies  with  dramatic  vigor.  The  opening  soliloquy  in  the 
fourth  act  of  "Tasso"  is  a  splendid  example  of  the  dramatic 
reflective  type : 

"  Bist  du  aus  einem  Traum  erwacht,  und  hat 
Der  schone  Trug  auf  einmal  dich  verlassen? 
Hat  dich  an  einem  Tag  der  hochsten  Lust 
Ein  Schlaf  gebandigt,  halt  und  angstet  nun 
Mit  schweren  Fesseln  deine  Seele?    Ja, 
Du  wachst  und  traumst.     Wo  sind  die  Stunden  hin, 
Die  um  dein  Haupt  mit  Blumenkranzen  spielten? 
Die  Tage,  wo  dein  Geist  mit  freier  Sehnsucht 
Des  Himmels  ausgespanntes  Blau  durchdrang? 
Und  dennoch  lebst  du  noch,  und  fiihlst  dich  an, 
Du  fiihlst  dich  an,  und  weisst  nicht,  ob  du  lebst." 

Many  of  the  purely  reflective  soliloquies  are  short,  as,  e.  g., 
Margarete's : 

"  Du  lieber  Gott !  was  so  ein  Mann 
Nicht  alles,  alles  denken  kann ! 
Beschamt  nur  steh'  ich  vor  ihm  da 
Und  sag'  zu  alien  Sachen  ja. 
Bin  doch  ein  arm  unwissend  Kind, 
Begreife  nicht,  was  er  an  mir  find't."^ 

Sententious  bits  are  not  very  numerous  except  possibly  in 
*'Die  Mitschuldigen,"  where  there  is  a  liberal  sprinkling  of 

1  Tasso,  III,  3.     Grosscophta,  IV,  i ;  IV,  8. 

2  Faust,   I,  V,   6o2-s;   634-639;    640-651;    672-675;    682-685. 

•3  Faust,  I,  3211-3216;  others  1526-29;  2678-83;  2862-64;  3677-86. 


69 

homely  practical  truths:  "  Ein  Madchen  ist  wahrhaftig  iibel 
dran !  etc."  :^ 

"  Es  braucht's  nicht  eben  just,  dass  einer  tapfer  ist; 

Man  kommt  auch  durch  die  Welt  mit  Schleichen  und  mit  List. "2; 
"  Es  ist  ein  narrisch  Ding  um  ein  empfindlich  Blut ; 

Es  pocht,  wenn  man  auch  nur  halbweg  was  Boses  tut."^ 
"  Ja,  folgt  der  Liebe  nur !     Mit  f reundlichen  Geberden 

Lockt  sie  euch  an  fangs  nach — 

Doch  wenn  ihr  einmal  den  Weg  verliert, 

Dann  fuhrt  kein  IrrHcht  euch  so  schlimm,  als  sie  euch  fiihrt."* 
"  Wenn  man  was  Boses  tut,  erschrickt  man  vor  dem  Bosen."^ 

Weislingen's :  "  So  gewiss  ist  der  allein  gliicklich  und  gross, 
der  weder  zu  herrschen  noch  zu  gehorchen  braucht,  um  et^vas 
zu  sein;"®  Lerse's:  "  So  geht's  in  der  Welt,  weiss  kein  Mensch, 
was  aus  den  Dingen  werden  kann,^  etc. ;"  Margarete  von  Par- 
ma's :  "  O  was  sind  wir  Grossen  auf  der  Woge  der  Mensch- 
heit?  Wir  glauben  sie  zu  beherrschen,  und  sie  treibt  uns  auf 
und  nieder,  bin  und  her,"®  are  on  a  somewhat  higher  plane  and 
show  a  maturer  mind. 

Philosophical  passages  in  the  soliloquies  are  infrequent. 
Faust's  second  soliloquy  includes  the  following  philosophical 
passage : 

"  Ach !  unsre  Taten  selbst,  so  gut  als  unsre  Leiden, 
Sie  hemmen  unsres  Lebens  Gang. 
Dem  Herrlichsten,  was  auch  der  Geist  empfangen, 
Drangt  immer  fremd  und  fremder  Stoff  sich  an; 
Wenn  wir  zum  Guten  dieser  Welt  gelangen, 
Dann  heisst  das  Bess're  Trug  und  Wahn. 
Die  uns  das  Leben  gaben,  herrliche  Gefiihle, 
Erstarren  in  dem  irdischen  Gewiihle. 
Wenn  Phantasie  sich  sonst  mit  kuhnem  Flug 
Und  hoffnungsvoll  zum  Ewigen  erweitert, 
So  ist  ein  kleiner  Raum  ihr  nun  genug, 

U,  3,  V.  i8i. 
2  11,    I,  V.  337. 
8  II,  2,  V.  377. 
4  n.  3,  V.  398  ff. 

B  III,    I,   V.    540. 

8G6tz,  I,  5. 

7  Gotz,  III,  19. 

8  Egmont,  I,  2. 


70 

Wenn  Gliick  auf  Gliick  im  Zeitenstrudel  scheitert. 

Die  Sorge  nistet  gleich  im  tiefen  Herzen, 

Dort  wirket  sie  geheime  Schmerzen, 

Unruhig  wiegt  sie  sich  und  storet  Lust  und  Ruh !  ; 

Sie  deckt  sich  stets  mit  neuen  Masken  zu, 

Sie  mag  als  Haus  und  Hof,  als  Weib  und  Kind  erscheinen, 

AIs  Feuer,  Wasser,  Dolch  und  Gift; 

Du  bebst  vor  allem,  was  nicht  trifft, 

Und  was  du  nie  verlierst,  das  musst  du  stets  beweinen?"i 

Another  splendid  example  is  found  in  Faust's  opening  solilo- 
quy in  the  second  part,  v.  4704-4714. 

Soliloquies  of  violent  inner  conflict  are  far  more  numerous 
than  the  calmer  and  purely  mental  deliberative  soliloquy  which. 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  is  very  scarce  indeed.  Weislingen's  delib- 
eration after  agreeing  to  remain  at  Bamberg  incidentally  de- 
picts the  working  of  his  conscience :  "  Du  bleibst !  Sei  auf  deiner 
Hut,  die  Versuchung  ist  gross — Doch  ist's  nicht  recht,  die  vielen 
Geschafte,  die  ich  dem  Bischof  unvollendet  liegen  liess,  nicht 
wenigstens  so  zu  ordnen,  dass  ein  Nachfolger  da  anfangen 
kann,  wo  ich's  gelassen  habe.  Das  kann  ich  doch  alles  thun, 
unbeschadet  Berlichingen  und  unserer  Verbindung.  Denn 
halten  sollen  sie  mich  hier  nicht. — Ware  doch  besser  gewesen, 
wenn  ich  nicht  gekommen  ware.  Aber  ich  will  fort — morgen 
oder  iibermorgen."- 

In  "  Die  Mitschuldigen,"  Soller,  who  needs  money  to  pay  his 
gambling  debts,  solves  the  predicament  as  follows  : 

"  Ich  weiss  nicht  aus  noch  ein. 
Wie  war's?  .  .  .  Alcest  hat  Geld  .  .  .  und  diese  Dietrich'  schliessen. 
Er  hat  auch  grosse  Lust,  bei  mir  was  zu  geniessen ! 
Er  schleicht  um  meine  Frau,  das  ist  mir  lang'  verhasst: 
Eh  nun !  da  lad'  ich  mich  einmal  bei  ihm  zu  Gast. 
Allein,  kam'  es  heraus,  da  gab's  dir  schlimme  Sachen — 
Ich  bin  nun  in  der  Not,  was  kann  ich  anders  machen? 
Der  Spieler  will  sein  Geld,  sonst  priigelt  er  mich  aus. 
Courage,  Soller!     Fort!     es  schlaft  das  ganze  Haus."^ 

1  Faust,  I,  632-651. 

2  Gotz,  II,  7. 

3  1,  7. 


71 

Eugenie,  on  the  point  of  embarking,  stops  to  weigh  the  pros  and 
cons  and  decides  to  remain : 

"  Und  solche  Sorge  nahm'  ich  mit  hiniiber? 
Entzoge  mich  gemeinsamer  Gefahr? 
Entflohe  der  Gelegenheit,  mich  kuhn 
Der  hohen  Ahnen  wiirdig  zu  beweisen, 
Und  jeden,  der  mich  ungerecht  verletzt, 
In  boser  Stunde  hiilfreich  zu  beschamen? 
Nun  bist  du,  Boden  meines  Vaterlands, 
Mir  erst  ein  HeiHgtum,  nun  fiihl  ich  erst 
Den  dringenden  Beruf,  mich  anzuklammern."^ 

"Die  Mitschiildigen "  contains  two  splendid  examples^  of  the 
dramatic  conflict  soHloquy.  Although  everything  points  to 
Sophie's  guilt,  Alcest  is  loth  to  believe  that  such  a  noble  crea- 
ture is  capable  of  the  theft  and  is  racked  by  doubt.  The  open- 
ing line  of  the  first  soliloquy  stamps  it  as  an  expression  of  inner 
dissension : 

"  Solch  einen  schweren  Streit  empfand  dies  Herz  noch  nie." 

In  the  second  soliloquy  he  is  still  in  the  throes  of  conflict : 

"  Nun  waren  wir  gescheit !    Das  ist  ein  tolles  Wesen ! 
Der  Teufel  mag  das  Ding  nun  auseinander  lesen  !  .  .  . 
Hier  ist  ein  Fall,  wo  man  beim  Denken  nichts  gewinnt; 
Man  wird  nur  tiefer  dumm,  je  tiefer  dass  man  sinnt." 

Fernando's  terrific  mental  struggles  are  admirably  portrayed 
in  "  Stella,"  V,  2 :  "  Lass  mich !  Lass  mich !  Sieh !  da  f asst's 
mich  wieder  mit  all  der  schrecklichen  Verworrenheit ! — So  kalt, 
so  grass  liegt  alles  vor  mir  .  .  .  als  war'  die  Welt  nichts  .  .  . 
ich  hatte  drin  nichts  verschuldet  .  .  .  Und  sie ! — Ha !  bin  ich 
nicht  elender  als  ihr?  Was  habt  ihr  an  mich  zu  fordern?  .  .  . 
Was  ist  nun  des  Sinnens  Ende? — Hier!  und  hier!  Von  einem 
Ende  zum  andern!  durchgedacht !  und  wieder  durchgedacht ! 
und  immer  qualender !  immer  schrecklicher !  .  .  .  Wo's  zuletzt 
widerstosst !     Nirgends  vor,  nicht  hinter  sich !     Nirgends  Rat 

1  Natiirliche  Tochter,  V,  8. 

2  III,  7;  III,  9. 


72 

und  Hiilfe!  .  .  .  Und  diese  zwei?  Diese  drei  besten  weib- 
lichen  Geschopfe  der  Erde  elend  durch  mich! " 

Iphigenie's  two  conflict  soliloquies,  IV,  3,  and  IV,  5,  are 
characterized  by  a  dignified  repression  which  is  quite  in  accord 
with  her  nature  and  fully  as  forceful  as  the  wild  outbursts  of 
an  unbalanced  nature  would  be.  In  the  first  of  the  above  men- 
tioned speeches  she  is  agitated  by  the  emotions  aroused  by  the 
base  deceit  which  Pylades  urged  her  to  use  against  her  bene- 
factor. After  Pylades  had  persuaded  her  to  adopt  his  plan 
Arkas  reminded  her  of  the  many  kindnesses  which  the  king  had 
shown  her,  and  unsettled  her: 

"  Nun  hat  die  Stimme 
Des  treuen  Manns  mich  wieder  aufgeweckt, 
Dass  ich  auch  Menschen  hier  verlasse,  mich 
Erinnert.     Doppelt  wird  mir  der  Betrug 
Verhasst.     O  bleibe  ruhig,  meine  Seele ! 
Beginnst  du  nun  zu  schwanken  und  zu  zweifeln?" 

In  the  second  speech  her  wish  to  leave  guiltlessly,  so  that  she 
may  purify  her  home,  struggles  against  the  desire  to  save  her 
brother  and  his  friend,  a  course  of  procedure  which  involves 
sacrilege  and  gross  ingratitude.  In  "  Tasso  "  Leonore  passes 
through  a  struggle  between  her  selfish  and  her  altruistic  Ego, 
the  former  demanding  that  she  abduct  Tasso,  thus  depriving 
the  princess  of  his  presence,  the  latter  insisting  that  she  is 
richly  blessed  with  the  good  things  of  this  world.  After  an 
uninterrupted  series  of  nine  questions  uttered  by  her  better  self 
her  selfish  nature  presents  its  arguments  in  defense  of  the  ab- 
duction and  is  victorious. 

"Ach,  sie  verliert — und  denkst  du  zu  gewinnen? 
Ist's  denn  so  notig,  dass  er  sich  entfernt? 
Machst  du  es  notig,  um  allein  ftir  dich 
Das  Herz  und  die  Talente  zu  besitzen, 
Die  du  bisher  mit  einer  andern  teilst, 
Und  ungleich  teilst?    Ist's  redlich,  so  zu  handein? 
Bist  du  nicht  reich  genug?    Was  fehit  dir  noch?"i 

The  soliloquy  is  an  excellent  specimen  of  a  talking  to  one's 
self,  of  a  dialog  between  two  well  defined  characters  within  one 
soul. 

1  Tasso,  III,  3. 


73 

In  discussing  the  emotional  soliloquies  only  the  more  note- 
worthy examples  will  be  mentioned,  as  space  forbids  a  detailed 
analysis  of  this  numerous  type.  Love's  awakening  and  relent- 
less rule  are  most  beautifully  depicted  in  "  Faust."  Faust's 
soliloquy  beginning: 

"  Willkommen  siisser  Dammerschein  ! 
Der  du  dies  Heiligtum  durchwebst. 
Ergreif  mein  Herz,  du  siisse  Liebespein ! 
Die  du  vom  Tau  der  Hoffnung  schmachtend  lebst,  etc."  ^ 

poetically  describes  his  awakening  passion;  Gretchen's  exqui- 
site lyric: 

"  Meine  Ruh'  ist  bin, 

Mein  Herz  ist  schwer; 

Ich  finde  sie  nimmer 

Und  nimmermehr"  ^ 

pictures  Gretchen  in  the  grip  of  an  overwhelming  passion. 
Subdued  grief  prevades  Iphigenie's  opening  soliloquy,  passion- 
ate grief  Clavigo's  final  outburst^  and  Stella's  impassioned  utter- 
ance, V,  I.  A  mixture  of  impassioned  grief  and  fear  charac- 
terizes Gretchen's  pitiful  appeal  in  the  "Zwinger"  scene: 

"Wer  fiihlet, 
Wie  wiihlet 

Der  Schmerz  mir  im  Gebein? 
Was  mein  armes  Herz  hier  banget, 
Was  es  zittert,  was  verlanget, 
Weisst  nur  du,  nur  du  allein !  "* 

Jealousy  is  of  infrequent  occurrence  and  is  rather  gentle  than 
violent,  so,  e.  g.,  Brackenburg's  speeches,  I,  end,  and  V,  3,°  and 
Wilhelm's  outburst  in  "  Die  Geschwister."  Three  powerful 
instances  of  fear  are  Weislingen's  deathbed  speech,*  Egmont's 
horror  of  approaching  death,^  and  Gretchen's  terror-filled  wails 
in  the  cathedral.® 

1  Faust,  Pt.  I,  2687-2728. 

2  Faust,  I,  3374-3412. 
8  Clavigo,  V. 

4  Faust,  I,  3581-3620. 

5  Egmont. 

6  Gotz,  V,   10. 

1  Egmont,  V,  2. 
8  Faust,  I,  Dom. 


74 

Exuberant  joy  is  the  predominating  emotion  in  Tasso's  deli- 
rious outburst,  II,  2,  in  Stella's  soliloquy,  IV,  i,  and  in  Eu- 
genie's speech,  II,  4.^  Deep  despair  hovers  over  several  of 
Tasso's  soliloquies,  notably  IV,  i,  and  IV,  5,  as  well  as  Klar- 
chen's^  and  Brackenburg's^  hopeless  laments  in  "  Egmont." 

Thoas's  angry  outburst,  V,  2,  Iphigenie's  anxious  speech,  IV, 
I,  Fernando's  remorseful  soliloquy,  III,  end,*  Stella's  flash  of 
hatred,  V,  i,^  aptly  illustrate  a  few  more  of  the  commoner 
passions. 

In  classifying  the  above  mentioned  emotional  soliloquies  the 
predominating  passion  has  been  the  deciding  factor.  There 
are  comparatively  few  soliloquies  in  which  but  one  emotion  is 
portrayed;  quite  the  contrary  is  true.  The  speaker  usually 
veers  from  one  emotion  to  another  or  from  thought  to  emotion 
and  vice  versa.  So  in  Faust's  opening  soliloquy  we  find  hope- 
lessness, dissatisfaction,  longing,  hatred,  disgust,  despair  to- 
gether with  reflective  passages.  To  be  sure  we  do  find  solilo- 
quies in  the  crude  drama  of  the  early  periods  which  are  purely 
expositional  or  purely  emotional  and  do  not  show  a  combina- 
tion of  thought  and  feeling.  But  such  instances  in  classical 
drama  are  rare  indeed.  The  division  into  thought  soliloquies 
and  emotional  soliloquies,  accordingly,  has  been  made  solely  for 
the  purpose  of  discussion.  In  every  instance  the  classification 
has  been  made  with  reference  to  the  predominating  element. 
As  Dr.  Arnold  aptly  expresses  it :  "  In  the  soliloquy,  as  in  every 
human  document,  there  is  a  natural  intermingling  of  thought 
and  feeling,  and  therefore  the  segregation  of  thought  and  passion 
is  an  arbitrary  arrangement  for  convenience  of  discussion."^ 

To  sum  up,  the  gradual  elimination  of  the  soliloquy  in  the 
later  dramas,  as  in  the  case  of  Schiller,  is  not  a  characteristic 
of  Goethe's  craftsmanship.  Quite  the  contrary  is  true  and  we 
find  a  larger  number  of  soliloquies  in  the  later  dramas  than 
those  of  the  earlier  period.     Another  marked  difference  is  the 

1  Natiirliche  Tochter. 

2V,3. 

3V,3. 

4  Stella. 

5  Ibid. 

6  Arnold,  The  Soliloquies  of  Shakespeare,  p.   162. 


76 

style  of  the  soliloquies  of  the  verse  dramas  of  the  two  poets. 
As  opposed  to  the  natural  diction  and  the  comparative  absence 
of  rhetorical  embellishments  in  the  soliloquies  of  Schiller's 
verse  dramas,  Goethe's  later  soliloquies  delight  in  rhetorical 
figures,  stylistic  beauty  and  philosophic  reflection.  This  great 
formal  beauty,  however,  does  not  exclude  dramatic  force  and 
life  in  all  instances,  as  the  soliloquies  in  "Tasso"  and  some  of 
those  in  "Faust,"  which  have  already  been  cited,  conclusively 
prove.  Roughly  speaking,  practically  all  the  soliloquies  occur- 
ring in  the  dramas  prior  to  "  Egmont "  are  dramatic  and  natural 
in  diction,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the  soliloquies  in 
"  Stella,"  which  are  somewhat  florid,  perfervid  and  hypersenti- 
mental.  In  "  Egmont "  the  hero's  two-page  soliloquy,  V,  2,  is 
an  example  of  the  logically  developed  and  styhstically  polished 
soliloquy  that  casts  vraisemblance  ruthlessly  aside  and  aims 
only  at  producing  a  beautiful  literary  passage.  Egmont's  pre- 
monition and  fear  of  death  is  the  underlying  thought,  but  we 
are  not  convinced  that  a  man  who  can  give  expression  to  such 
figurative  and  highly  embellished  language  is  greatly  worried. 
The  other  soliloquies  of  the  play  are  not  open  to  this  criticism. 
Of  the  dramas  following  "Egmont,"  "Tasso"  has  the  most 
dramatic  and  least  embellished  soliloquies,  "  Iphigenie "  and 
"Die  natiirliche  Tochter"  more  highly  ornate  specimens,  and 
at  the  same  time  less  dramatic,  and  "Faust,"  especially  the 
second  soliloquy  of  the  First  Part  and  most  of  the  soliloquies  of 
the  Second  Part,  the  most  beautiful  and  embellished  but  at 
the  same  time  least  dramatic  soliloquies.  The  successful  em- 
ployment of  the  dialog  form  (sich  mit  sich  selbst  besprechen), 
of  apostrophes  and  a  judicious  infusion  of  passion  into  the 
soliloquies,  raises  very  many  of  them  to  the  level  of  dialog. 
Those  of  the  soliloquies  which  are  undramatic,  notably  the  de- 
scriptive soliloquies,  are  doubtless  dramatic  slips,  but  they  have 
the  saving  grace  of  being  beautiful  errors. 


CHAPTER   IV 
The  Romantic  Drama 

I.  Heinrich  von  Kleist 

Inasmuch  as  Tieck,  Arnim  and  Brentano  produced  only 
closet  dramas  there  is  nothing  to  be  gained  by  subjecting  this 
dramatic  output  to  an  examination.  Let  us  turn  then  to  the 
real  dramatists  of  the  period,  beginning  with  Kleist. 

Kleist's  latest  biographer,  H.  Aleyer-Benfy,  in  discussing 
his  dramatic  technic  as  applied  to  the  soliloquy,  writes :  "  Kleist 
differs  from  all  earlier  forms  of  the  drama  by  the  remarkably 
sparing  use  of  the  soliloquy.  Neither  Shakespeare  nor  Schiller 
has  been  his  model  in  this  respect.  He  has  consistently 
scorned  the  convenient  and  superficial  expedient  of  French 
drama,  viz.,  conversations  with  a  confidant.  It  is  greatly  to  his 
credit  that  he  got  along  practically  without  soliloquies  in  spite 
of  this  fact.  It  is  one  of  the  most  noteworthy  advances  which 
dramatic  art  owes  to  Kleist,  an  advance  which  for  the  time 
being  exerted  no  influence  and  which  the  mature  Ibsen  there- 
fore had  to  acquire  anew."^ 

This  must  be  taken  with  a  grain  of  salt.  The  statement  con- 
cerning the  scarcity  of  soliloquies  certainly  does  not  apply  to 
"  Kathchen  von  Heilbronn  "  which  not  only  discloses  a  goodly 
supply  of  soliloquies,  more  than  Schiller's  "  Tell,"  e.  g.,  but 
also  a  painful  crudeness  in  the  technic  of  the  same.  That  Kleist 
got  along  without  a  confidant  is  true,  to  be  sure,  but  does  this 
place  him  on  a  higher  plane  than  his  predecessors  ?  Lessing  made 
use  of  this  expedient  only  in  his  early  unimportant  dramatic 
efforts,  which  were  under  French  influence,  discarding  it  in  his 
later  works.  Schiller  did  not  employ  it  and  Goethe  only  in 
"  Gotz,"  in  which  Adelheid's  maid  may  be  regarded  as  a  confidant. 
Kleist  deserves  credit  for  his  avoidance  of  the  confidant,  but  it 
is  not  necessary  to  make  so  much  ado  about  it.     To  what  fact 

1  Das  Drama  Heinrich  von  Kleists,  Vol.  i,  p.  96  ff. 
76 


77 

is  the  scarcity  of  soliloquies  to  be  attributed?  To  the  fact  that 
the  characters  are  people  of  action  rather  than  people  given  to 
thought  and  reflection.  In  such  characters  thought  soliloquies 
are  naturally  out  of  place.  Would  Kleist  have  written 
"  Tasso  "  without  soliloquies  ? 

In  "Der  zerbrochene  Krug"  no  soliloquies  occur,  although 
there  are  as  many  as  sixteen  asides.  The  lack  of  soliloquies  is 
a  necessary  outgrowth  of  the  action,  all  of  which  takes  place  in 
a  courtroom  in  which  two  or  more  characters  are  always  pres- 
ent, so  that  the  number  of  people  on  the  stage  makes  a  soliloquy 
impossible.  In  "  Penthesilea,"  that  undramatic  portrayal  of 
passion  run  riot,  there  are  also  no  soliloquies,  although  a  few 
short  speeches  of  Penthesilea  might  be  regarded  as  such,  inas- 
much as  she  pays  absolutely  no  attention  to  those  about  her. 
This  is  especially  true  when  she  is  at  the  height  of  her  frenzy, 
so  e.  g.  in  scenes  19  and  20.  Accordingly  only  four  plays,  viz., 
"  Die  Familie  Schroffenstein,"  "  Kathchen  von  Heilbronn,"  "  Die 
Hermannsschlacht,"  "  Prinz  von  Homburg,"  and  the  fragment 
"  Robert  Guiskard  "  need  be  considered. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  second  act  of  "  Die  Familie  Schrof- 
fenstein "  Agnes  delivers  a  rather  puzzling  speech.  At  first 
sight  it  seems  to  be  a  soliloquy  which  the  speaker  delivers  for 
the  benefit  of  Ottokar,  who  has  entered,  and  has  been  observed 
by  the  speaker.  Inasmuch  as  the  stage  directions  tell  us  that 
Ottokar  has  his  back  turned  when  she  espies  him  and  that  she 
continues  as  though  she  had  not  noticed  his  approach,  the  object 
of  the  speech  seems  to  be  to  create  the  impression  in  Ottokar's 
mind  that  he  is  overhearing  a  bona  fide  soliloquy.  This  of 
course  would  be  an  arrant  absurdity,  as  thought  can  not  very 
well  be  overheard.  As  a  matter  of  fact  two  passages  in  this 
speech  :  "  Da  ist,  zum  Beispiel,  heimlich  jetzt  ein  Jiingling,"  and 
"  Ja,  dieser  Jiingling,  wollt'  ich  sagen,  ist  heimlich  nun  herange- 
schlichen,"  show  that  she  intends  the  speech  to  be  a  declaration 
of  love,  roguishly  delivered  to  Ottokar,  who  knows  that  she  is 
aware  of  his  presence  because  of  these  allusions  to  him.  R. 
Franz,  who  condemns  this  speech  as  a  most  inexcusable  type 
of  soliloquy,  evidently  overlooked  these  lines. ^ 

1  R.  Franz,  Der  Monolog  und  Ibsen,  p.  54. 


Meyer-Ben fy  states  that  Kleist  scorns  the  soliloquy  through- 
out this  drama  and  thereby  proves  himself  an  independent  artist 
and  born  dramatist.^  Elsewhere,  however,  he  admits  that  there 
are  two  short  soliloquies^  in  the  work  and  proceeds  to  laud 
them  to  the  skies  because  they  are  such  splendid  link  solil- 
oquies !  It  has  been  pointed  out  in  the  discussion  of  Lessing 
that  link  soliloquies  are  an  expedient  of  an  immature  dramatist. 
Secondly  Meyer-Benfy  overlooks  a  third  and  rather  long  solil- 
oquy delivered  by  Ottokar  when  he  is  shut  up  in  the  paternal 
dungeon,^  and  a  fourth  soliloquy  which  Barnabe  delivers 
while  she  is  chanting  her  incantations  over  the  witches'  kettle.* 
Ottokar's  soliloquy,  IV,  3,  deserves  special  mention.  He  has 
interrupted  Barnabe  in  her  incantations  and  suddenly  makes  a 
discovery  (a  child's  finger  in  the  broth)  which  greatly  arouses 
him.  He  is  so  overcome  with  emotion  that  he  finds  it  absolutely 
essential  to  his  happiness  to  unburden  himself  of  a  soliloquy, 
but  unfortunately  he  can  not  do  it  legitimately  with  Barnabe  on 
the  stage.  How  does  he  meet  the  dilemma?  He  politely  re- 
quests her  to  leave,  repeats  his  invitation  twice,  and,  when  she 
ignores  his  three  invitations,  pushes  her  out  of  the  room  and 
proceeds  to  deliver  himself  of  his  soliloquy,  now  that  the  con- 
ditions are  suitable.  This  surely  is  a  remarkable  advance  in 
the  technic  of  the  soliloquy!  It  remained  for  Kleist  to  show 
that  a  fitting  place  for  a  soliloquy  may  be  created  ad  libitum  by 
the  enforced  exit  of  one's  partner. 

In  "  Kathchen  "  we  find  two  soliloquies  that  display  all  the 
naive  crudity  of  the  old  shrovetide  plays,  soliloquies  that  almost 
lead  one  to  the  belief  that  Kleist  had  no  well-defined  ideas  on 
the  subject  of  the  soliloquy  and  that  the  good  features  are 
merely  accidental.  In  the  first,  IV,  2,  Count  von  Strahl  takes 
the  audience  into  his  confidence  and  narrates  a  conversation 
just  held  with  his  servant,  then  adds  a  few  reflections  and  ends 
with  a  reversion  to  his  interview  with  the  servant:  "  Gottschalk, 
der  mir  dies  Futteral  gebracht,  hat  mir  gesagt,  das  Kathchen 

1  op.  cit.,  p.  170. 

2  P.  97. 

3  IV,  5. 

4  IV,    3. 


79 

ware  wieder  da.  Kunigunde  zog  eben,  weil  ihre  Burg  nieder- 
gebrannt  ist,  in  die  Thore  der  meinigen  ein ;  da  kommt  er  und 
spricht:  unter  dem  Hollunderstrauch  lage  sie  wieder  da  und 
schliefe ;  und  bat  mich,  mit  thranenden  Augen,  ich  mochte  ihm 
doch  erlauben,  sie  in  den  Stall  zu  nehmen.  Ich  sagte,  bis  der  alte 
Vater,  der  Theobald,  sich  aufgefunden,  wiird'  ich  ihr  in  der 
Herberge  ein  Unterkommen  verschaffen ;  und  indessen  hab'  ich 
mich  herabgeschlichen,  um  einen  Entwurf  mit  ihr  auszufiihren. 
..."  Later :  "  Doch  rasch,  ehe  Gottschalk  kommt  und  mich 
stort.  Dreierlei  hat  er  mir  gesagt:  einmal,  dass  sie  einen 
Schlaf  hat  wie  ein  Murmeltier;  etc."  In  the  second  soliloquy, 
V,  2,  the  emperor  very  naively  supplies  us  with  expositional 
matter:  "Das  Madchen  ist,  wie  ich  hore,  fiinfzehn  Jahr  alt; 
und  vor  sechzehn  Jahren  weniger  drei  Monaten,  genau  gezahlt, 
feierte  ich,  der  Pfalzgrafin,  meiner  Schwester,  zu  Ehren,  das 
grosse  Turnier  in  Heilbronn !  Es  mochte  ohngefahr  elf  Uhr 
abends  sein,  und  der  Jupiter  ging  eben  mit  seinem  funkelhden 
Licht  im  Osten  auf,  als  ich,  vom  Tanz  sehr  ermiidet,  aus  dem 
Schlosstor  trat,  um  mich  in  dem  Garten,  der  daran  stosst,  uner- 
kannt,  unter  dem  Volk,  das  ihn  erfiillte,  zu  erlaben ;  etc." 

In  a  long  soliloquy  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  act  Count 
von  Strahl  expresses  his  sorrow  at  his  inability  to  marry  the 
plebeian  Kathchen,  as  that  would  not  be  "  standesgemass,"  his 
great  love  for  her  and  his  decision  to  bear  up  heroically,  in 
language  that  is  florid,  unnatural  and  unconvincing :  "  Ich  will 
meine  Muttersprache  durchblattern  und  das  ganze  reiche  Kapi- 
tel,  das  diese  Ueberschrift  fiihrt:  Empfindung,  dergestalt  pliin- 
dern,  dass  kein  Reimschmied  mehr  auf  eine  neue  Art  soil  sagen 
konnen:  ich  bin  betriibt.  Alles,  was  die  Wehmut  Riihrendes 
hat,  will  ich  aufbieten,  Lust  und  in  den  Tod  gehende  Betriibniss 
sollen  sich  abwechseln  und  meine  Stimme,  wie  einen  schonen 
Tanzer,  durch  alle  Beugungen  hindurchfiihren,  die  Seele  be- 
zaubern ;  und  wenn  die  Baume  nicht  in  der  That  bewegt  wer- 
den  und  ihren  milden  Tau,  als  ob  es  geregnet  hatte,  herabtrau- 
feln  lassen,  so  sind  sie  von  Holz  und  alles,  was  uns  die  Dichter 
von  ihnen  sagen,  ein  blosses,  liebliches  Marchen.  .  .  .  Kath- 
chen, Kathchen,  Kathchen !  etc." 


80 

The  four  soliloquies^  in  "Die  Hermannsschlacht "  are  brief 
and  partially  enlivened  by  the  use  of  apostrophe.  Two  of  the 
four  soliloquies^  in  "  Prinz  von  Homburg  -'  are  apostrophes,  one 
to  Fame,  the  other  to  Immortality,  and  both  are  cast  in  florid 
style.  The  other  two  are  reflective,  that  of  the  prince  being 
tinged  with  philosophic  reflection: 

"  Das  Leben  nennt  der  Derwisch  eine  Reise, 
Und  eine  kurze.     Freilich !     Von  zwei  Spannen 
Diesseits  der  Erde  nach  zwei  Spannen  darunter,  etc."^ 

Only  one  of  the  reflective  soliloquies  results  in  a  decision,  the 
others  having  no  direct  bearing  upon  the  action.*  The  open- 
ing speech  in  the  fragment  "  Robert  Guiskard,"  a  chorus  by  the 
people,  is  nothing  but  a  disguised  expositional  soliloquy,  inas- 
much as  the  committee  to  whom  the  speech  is  delivered  is  thor- 
oughly conversant  with  all  the  facts  therein  set  forth. 

Not  one  of  Kleist's  soliloquies  is  a  real  talking  to  one's 
self,  and  the  dialog  form  which  is  so  successfully  employed  by 
the  classic  triad  is  nowhere  in  evidence.  An  occasional  use  of 
the  apostrophe  is  all  that  gives  life  to  the  soliloquies.  Kleist's 
sole  claim  to  distinction  therefore  is  his  sparing  use  of  the  same 
in  three  of  the  four  plays.  This  is  counteracted  however  by  the 
undramatic  form  of  the  same  and  the  startling  crudity  of  the 
soliloquies  in  "  Kathchen  "  mentioned  above. 

2.  Franz  Grillparzer 

Unquestioning  acceptance  of  the  convention  as  exemplified 
in  the  masterpieces  of  the  classic  period  characterizes  Grillpar- 
zer's  use  of  the  soliloquy.  Goethe's  influence  is  visible  in  the 
soliloquies  of  "  Sappho,"  "  Des  Meeres  und  der  Liebe  Wellen," 
and  "  Der  Traum  ein  Leben."  In  "  Sappho  "  the  lyric  warmth 
and  the  formal  beauty  of  "  Iphigenie"  and  "Tasso"  are  par- 
ticularly noticeable.  Schiller's  influence  is  frequently  in  evi- 
dence, but  most  clearly  so  in  "  Blanka  von  Kastilien,"  the  whole 
style  and  atmosphere  of  which  is  Schilleresque.     Rather  full 

1 IV,  8;  V,  7;  V,  17;  V,  21. 

2  1,  end;  IV,  3  ;  V,  2 ;  V,  10. 

3  IV,  3. 

4  Homburg,  V,  2. 


81 

stage  directions  throughout  the  soHloquies  bespeak  his  obhga- 
tion  to  Schiller,  as  well  as  the  fact  that  most  of  the  dramas 
beginning  with  "Das  goldene  Vliess"  curtail  the  powers  of  the 
soliloquy,  a  practice  which  characterized  the  later  dramas  of 
Schiller. 

Initial  exposition  soliloquies  are  a  favorite  device  of  our 
poet.  J\iany  of  the  fragments  employ  this  metliod  of  attack, 
so,  e.  g.,  "  Rosamunde  Clifford,"  "  Robert,  Herzog  von  der  Nor- 
mandie,"  "  Drahomira,"  "  Psyche  "  and  "  Rosamunde."  His 
two  early  playlets  "  Die  Schreibfeder,"  and  "  Wer  ist  schnldig  ?  " 
both  have  initial  soliloquies,  that  of  the  former,  however,  being 
very  crudely  narrative.  All  the  other  above-mentioned  speeches 
have  the  expositional  material  concealed  by  the  emotional  ad- 
mixture. The  same  holds  true  of  the  dramas  which  employ 
this  device.  In  "  Des  IMeeres  und  der  Liebe  Wellen  "  the  exu- 
berant happiness  of  Hero  cloaks  the  expositional  matter;  in 
"  Blanka  "  Fedriko's  disgust ;,  in  "  Die  Ahnf  rau  "  the  count's 
resignation  and  gloom ;  in  "  Der  Traum  ein  Leben "  Mirza's 
anxiety  and  unhappiness;  in  "Libussa"  Primislaus's  joy. 
Apostrophes,  exclamations,  questions  and  the  pervading  emo- 
tion are  cleverly  employed  in  these  speeches. 

Fedriko's  exposition  speech^  throws  considerable  light  upon 
his  character  and  incidentally  reveals  his  identit}'  in  the  first 
line:  "Ha  Fedriko,  dies  deine  Bestimmung?"  Both  of  these 
types  are  infrequent.     Erny's : 

"  Sie  glauben,  weil  ich  selten  sprech'  und  wenig, 
Ich  konne  mich  nicht  wehren,  nicht  verteid'gen, 
Mein  Vater  sprach  wohl  oft :  Sie  hat's  im  Nacken  ! 
Ich  hab  es  auch  !     Ihr  sollt  noch  wahrlich  sehn !  "- 

is  a  good  example  of  self-characterization.  Hero's  opening  solil- 
oquy another  instance  of  identification.^ 

Narrative  passages  in  the  soliloquies  are  rather  infrequent. 
Jaromir's  recital  of  his  murder,*  Zanga's  account  of  the  battle,^ 

1  Blanka  von  Kastilien,  I,  i. 

2  Ein  treuer  Dicner  seines  Herrn,  II. 

3  Des  Meeres  u.  der  Liebe  Wellen,  I,  i. 

4  Die  Ahnfrau,  V. 

6  Der  Traum  ein  Leben,  III,  beg. 
7 


82 

Gregor's  repetition  of  his  conversation  with  the  king,^  Leon's 
narrative  of  incidents  on  the  return  trip,-  Isaak's  account  of 
how  he  escaped  the  soldiers,^  are  the  most  noteworthy.  Of 
these  the  last  mentioned  is  crudely  instructive : 

"Ich  habe  mich  versteckt, 
Als  sie  nach  Rauberart  das  Schoss  durchsuchten. 
Am  Boden  lag  ich,  in  mich  selbst  gekriimmt, 
Und  diese  Decke  war  mir  Dach  und  Schirm." 

Hero's  and  Jaromir's  speeches  are  the  only  ones  that  have  an 
emotional  admixture  and  thus  escape  being  purely  instructive. 
Descriptive  soliloquies  and  passages  are  much  in  evidence. 
Among  these  there  are  some  passages  of  wonderful  beauty  that 
deserve  quotation,  especially  two  by  Hero  and  another  by 
Mirza : 

"Wie  ruhig  ist  die  Nacht !     Der  Hellespont 
Lasst,  Kindem  gleich,  die  frommen  Wellen  spielen. 
Sie  fliistern  kaum,  so  still  sind  sie  vergniigt. 
Kein  Laut,  kein  Schimmer  rings;  nur  meine  Lampe 
Wirft  bleiche  Lichter  durch  die  dunkle  Luft."* 

"  Wie  schon  du  brennst,  O  Lampe,  meine  Freundin ! 
Noch  ist's  nicht  Nacht,  und  doch  geht  alles  Licht, 
Das  ringsumher  die  laute  Welt  erleuchtet. 
Von  dir  aus,  dir,  du  Sonne  meiner  Nacht."'' 

"  Abend  ist's,  die  Schopfung  feiert, 
Und  die  Vogel  aus  den  Zweigen, 
Wie  beschwingte  Silbergklockchen, 
Lauten  ein  den  Feierabend, 
Schon  bereit,  ihr  siiss  Gebot, 
Ruhend,  selber  zu  erfullen, 
Alles  folget  ihrem  Rufe, 
Alle  Augen  fallen  zu; 
Zu  den  Hiirden  zieht  die  Herde, 
Und  die  Blume  senkt  in  Ruh 
Schlummerschwer  das  Haupt  zur  Erde. 

iWeh  dem,  der  liigt,  I,  i. 

2  Weh  dem,  der  liigt,  V,  i. 

3  Die  Jiidin  v.  Toledo,  V,  beginning. 

4  Des  Meeres  u.  der  Liebe  Wellen,  III. 

5  Des  Meeres  u.  der  Liebe  Wellen,  IV,  3. 


83 

Feme  her,  vom  dustern  Osten, 
Steigt  empor  die  stille  Nacht, 
Ausgeloscht  des  Tages  Kerzen, 
Breitet  sie  den  dunkeln  Vorhang 
Um  die  Haupter  ihrer  Lieben 
Und  summt  sauselnd  sie  in  Schlaf."^ 

Zawisch's  description  of  the  queen,  followed  by  a  brief  survey 
of  the  state  of  affairs,^  is  decidedly  more  dramatic,  as  is  Phryx- 
us's  description  of  the  unruly  barbarians,^  and  Jason's  picture 
of  the  vault  he  has  entered.*  Jaromir's  description  of  the  in- 
terior of  the  chapel  which  is  not  visible  to  the  spectator  is  inter- 
esting.^ Accounts  of  what  is  going  on  off  the  stage  also  occur 
in  some  of  the  soliloquies.  In  "  Die  Ahnfrau,"  II,  beginning, 
Jaromir  repeats  a  prayer  which  Bertha  is  delivering  in  an  ad- 
joining room;  in  "  Ottokar,"  II,  i,  Zawisch  describes  the  ap- 
proach of  the  queen;  in  "Der  Traum  ein  Leben,"  II,  i,  Zanga 
tells  how  Rustan  is  escorting  the  princess;  in  "Weh  dem, 
der  liigt,"  III,  2,  Leon  describes  the  adjoining  bedroom  and  its 
snoring  occupant,  and  later.  III,  3,  informs  us  that  Atalus  is 
digging  below  the  bridge  on  which  he  stands. 

Purely  intentional  soliloquies  are  short  and  few  in  number. 
Usually  they  form  the  appendix  to  a  deflective  soliloquy,  as  was 
the  case  in  classic  drama.  Naukleros's :  "  Noch  geb'  ich  ihn 
nicht  auf.  Die  Freunde  samml'  ich,  wir  halten  ihn,  und  war' 
es  mit  Gewalt,"^  illustrates  the  purely  intentional  speech. 
Sappho's  soliloquy  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  act  is  a  good 
example  of  a  reflective  soliloquy  with  an  intentional  ending. 
After  lengthy  reflections  about  ingratitude  and  her  plans  with 
regard  to  Phaon  she  decides  to  send  Melitta  away,  inasmuch 
as  the  latter  had  estranged  Phaon  from  her : 

"  Nach  Chios  soil  Melitta  hin,  ...  So  sei  es !     Ha,  so  sci's !  " 

1  Der  Traum  ein  Leben,  I,  i. 

2  Ottokar's  Gltick  u.  Ende,  III,  beg. 

3  Der  Gastfreund. 

4  Die  Argonauten,  I,  2. 

5  Die  Ahnfrau,  V. 

0  Des  Meeres  u.  der  Liebe  Wellen,  IV,  2.  Other  examples ;  Libussa,  I, 
I.  Die  Argonauten,  I,  i,  end;  Der  Traum  ein  Leben,  IV,  4,  Rustan's 
speech. 


84 

In  "  Die  Jiidin  von  Toledo  "  the  king  interrupts  his  own  reflec- 
tions with  the  words : 

"Allein  was  soil  das  Grubeln  und  Betrachten, 
Gut  machen  heisst's;  damit  denn  fang'  ich  an."^ 

Jaromir's:  "Ha,  er  geht,  er  geht!  .  .  .  Was  soil  ich?  Sei  es 
denn !  .  .  .  Nun  Fassung,  Fassung !  "^  is  a  noteworthy  example 
of  conciseness,  as  the  two  lines  contain,  first,  exposition,  sec- 
ondly a  conflict,  thirdly  a  decision,  fourthly  an  exhortation  to 
himself  to  gain  composure. 

Hero's  long  soliloquy  in  tlie  third  act  is  a  splendid  example 
of  a  dramatic  reflective  speech,  dramatic  in  structure  as  it 
abounds  in  apostrophes,  exclamations  and  questions  addressed 
to  herself,  dramatic  in  content  as  it  throws  considerable  light 
upon  her  character.  The  fact  that  it  is  a  thought  soliloquy 
is  emphasized  by  the  words :  "  Gedanken,  bunt  und  wirr,  durch- 
kreuzen  meinen  Sinn."  Bertha's  sad  reflective  soliloquy, 
"  Ahnfrau,"  'HI,  i,  illustrates  the  lyric  type : 

"  Liebe,  das  sind  deine  Freuden, 
Das,  Besitz,  ist  deine  Lust? 
Wie  sind  dann  der  Trennung  Leiden, 
Und  wie  martert  der  Verlust?" 

Medea's  review  of  her  past  life,  "  Medea,"  IV,  Milo's  remarks 
about  Jason's  changed  character,  "  Argonauten,"  IV,  2,  Leon's 
reflections  on  the  manner  in  which  he  has  carried  out  the  in- 
junction not  to  prevaricate,  "  Weh  dem,  der  liigt,"  V,  are  some 
of  the  more  striking  examples  of  this  type. 

Sententious  and  philosophic  ingredients  are  met  with  in  many 
of  the  soliloquies,  both  in  the  early  works  and  the  later  dramas. 
The  unhappy  lot  of  woman  is  the  theme  of  a  serio-comic  out- 
burst in  "Wer  ist  schuldig?"  tlie  gist  of  which  is  embodied  in: 

"Genug!  In  Wien,  wie  in  dem  Lande  der  Chinesen, 
Ist  eine  Frau  das  ungliicksel'gste  aller  Wesen !  "^ 

as  well  as  of  Sappho's  sad  reflections  begiruning : 

iiV,  4- 

2  I,  near  end.     Other  examples  with  intentional  end :  Des  Meeres  u.  der 
Liebe  Wellen,  IV,  i,  priest's  soliloquy;  Die  Argonauten,  I,  i,  Medea, 
s  I,  beginning. 


85 

"  Nach  Frauenglut  misst  Mannerliebe  nicht, 
Wer  Liebe  kennt  und  Leben,  Mann  und  Frau."^ 

Phaon's  dictum  on  the  realization  of  wishes,^  Medea's  on  the 
folly  of  man,3  Primislaus's  on  the  relative  position  of  man  and 
woman/  the  king's  on  honor  and  reputation,^  bishop  Gregor's 
sermon  on  truth,^  are  some  of  the  more  striking  illustrations. 
Deliberative  soliloquies  of  the  type  made  famous  by  Nathan 
and  Posa  do  not  occur  in  Grillparzer's  dramas.  The  nearest 
approach  is  the  short  speech  of  the  escaping  Queen  in  "  Ein 
treuer  Diener  seines  Herrn  " : 

"  Steir  ich  den  Meutern  mich 
Als  Konigin  entgegen  und  als  Frau? 
Sie  spotten  mein  und  tun  ihr  blut'ges  Werk. 
Ergreif  ich  dieses  Schwert,  den  Mantel  bier 
Und  kampf  als  Mann  um  meine  siisse  Beute? 
Zu  schwach  !  .  .  .  O  Gott !     Kein  einzelner  geniigt ! 
Drum  dort  hinein  !  "''■ 

But  even  here  we  have  an  admixture  of  fear  which  removes 
the  speech  from  the  plane  of  calm  thought.  The  same  holds 
true  for  Ferdinand's  soliloquy  in  "  Ein  Bruderzwist,"  in  which 
the  line:  "  Mir  ringen  Zweifel  selber  in  der  Brust"  points  to  an 
inner  struggle.® 

Conflict  soliloquies  on  the  other  hand  are  well  represented. 
Fedriko's,  Maria's  and  the  king's  conflict  speeches  in  "  Blanka,"' 
especially  the  first  and  last,  are  cast  in  highly  dramatic  mold. 
Jaromir's  soliloquy  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  act  of  "  Die 
Ahnfrau"  depicts  him  in  terrible  inner  conflict  caused  by  the 
knowledge  that  he  has  murdered  his  father.  The  hopeless 
attempt  to  appease  his  accusing  conscience  is  powerfully 
presented, 

1  Sappho,  III,  beginning. 

2  Sappho,  II,  beginning. 

3  Argonauten,  I,  i. 

4  Libussa,  III,  beginning. 
6  Jiidin  v.  Toledo,  II. 

6  Weh  dem,  der  liigt,  I. 

7  IV.  3. 
8V. 

0  IV,  3  ;  V,  5  ;  V,  7. 


86 

The  mention  of  a  few  representative  emotional  soliloquies 
will  suffice.  Bertha's  rapturous  expression  of  joy,^  Sappho's 
beautiful  lyric  portraying  her  grief,^  Melitta's  speech  of  grief 
and  longing,^  Ottokar's  outburst  of  remorse,*  Hero's  two  ex- 
pressions of  her  love  for  Leander,^  Matthias's  hopeless  resig- 
nation,® are  some  of  the  more  striking  examples  found  in  the 
plays. 

The  language  of  the  soliloquies  in  "  Blanka  "  is  extravagantly 
florid  and  rhetorical,  in  "  Die  Ahnf  rau  "  it  becomes  lurid  and 
feverish : 

"Und  die  Angst  mit  Vampirriissel 
Saugt  das  Blut  aus  meinen  Adern 
Aus  dem  Kopfe  das  Gehirn.'"^ 

In  Sappho  formal  beauty  characterizes  the  style.  In  the  re- 
maining plays  'the  tendency  towards  beautiful  expression  pre- 
dominates, although  unadorned  style  is  occasionally  met  with. 
Occasional  examples  of  repression  at  times  of  great  emotional 
stress  are  interesting  forerunners  of  modern  technic.  Their 
scarcity,  however,  seems  to  show  that  they  are  accidental  rather 
than  the  result  of  careful  planning.  In  "  Ottokar,"  IV,  i,  the 
hero,  after  hearing  the  insulting  remarks  of  Zawisch  and  the 
queen,  remains  silent  and  after  he  has  stared  at  the  ground  for 
some  time  in  silence  says  laconically:  "  1st  das  mein  Schatten? 
— Nun,  zwei  Konige.  .  ,  ."  When  Bancban  sees  his  mur- 
dered wife  Erny,  he  contents  himself  with  a  laconic :  "  O, 
Erny !  O,  mein  Kind,  mein  gutes,  f  rommes  Kind !  "^  But  this 
is  due  not  so  much  to  the  overwhelming  grief  that  befalls  him 
as  to  the  lack  of  good  red  blood  in  his  veins.  On  the  whole, 
then,  one  is  justified  in  saying  that  Grillparzer  does  not  reach 

1  Die  Ahnfrau,  I. 

2  Sappho,  I,  end. 

3  Sappho,  II,  3. 

4  Ottokars  Gliick,  V,  5. 

5  Des  Meeres  u.  der  Liebe  Wellen,  III,  IV,  3. 
8  Ein  Bruderzwist  in  Habsburg,  V,  end. 

'''  II,  beginning. 

8  Ein  treuer  Diener,  III,  end. 


87 

the  level  set  by  Schiller  and  Goethe  in  the  technic  of  the  solilo- 
quy, firstly  because  of  the  numerous  narrative  and  descriptive 
soliloquies,  secondly  because  of  the  infrequency  of  the  dialog 
element  and  thirdly  because  more  thought  is  bestowed  upon  the 
garb  of  the  soliloquies  than  upon  their  appropriate  content. 


CHAPTER  V 
Forerunners  of  Modern  Realistic  Drama 

I.  Friedrich  Hehhel 

"Hebbel  is  rightly  considered  the  originator  (Stammvater) 
of  the  new  drama.  The  endeavor  to  mirror  life  in  its  entirety 
in  drama,  to  pursue  man's  inner  life  to  its  most  secret  impulses., 
proceeds  from  him.  In  his  technic  he  remained  a  follower  of 
the  classic  writers  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word."^  This  last 
statement  applies  especially  to  Hebbel's  use  of  the  soliloquy. 
The  striking  feature  of  his  plays  is  the  frequency  of  soliloquies 
and  the  still  greater  prevalence  of  asides.  And  the  cause? 
Hebbel's  proneness  to  morbid  introspection  and  self-analysis, 
which  is  faithfully  reflected  in  his  dramas.  For  him  the  drama 
is  an  opportunity  to  analyze  the  characters,  to  reveal  every 
fiber  of  the  soul,  to  dissect  every  emotion  and  thought.  We 
find  practically  all  the  characters  suffering  from  this  morbid 
surveillance  of  their  inner  self.  The  result  is  that  the  dramas 
make  a  mental  rather  than  an  emotional  appeal.  "  The  fre- 
quency and  explicitness  of  the  soliloquies  is  due  to  the  intro- 
spection and  especially  the  self-criticism  of  the  characters. 
With  characters  who  are  so  constantly  occupied  with  themselves 
and  pursue  their  emotions  and  actions  with  skeptical  scrutiny, 
it  is  natural  to  give  expression  to  their  inner  life  in  soliloquy 
form.  Seldom  is  a  soliloquy  in  d^-ama  so  justified  by  the  char- 
acter of  the  people  as  in  the  tragedies  of  Hebbel.  The  monologi- 
cal  outpourings  necessarily  belong  to  the  character  portrayal  of 
such  reflecting,  problematic  natures."^  "The  greater  part  of 
their  torments  would  remain  unknown  if  we  did  not  know  how 
their  thoughts  acquit  and  accuse  each  other  in  every  moment 
when  they  are  alone."^     One  can  not  help  but  feel  that  this 

1  R.  Weszleny,  Hebbels  Genoveva,  Berlin,  19  lo,  p.  145. 

2  C.  Pfeffer,  Die  Psychologic  der  Charaktere  in  Hebbels  Tragodie,  pp. 
112,  113. 

3  Hanstein,  Ibsen  als  Idealist,  p.  52. 


morbid  introspection  is  carried  too  far,  that  we  are  listening  to 
the  author  and  not  to  the  character  in  the  play,  and  that  the 
action  suffers  from  a  needlessly  exaggerated  characterization. 
But  even  though  we  should  yield  a  point  and  accept  these 
revelations  of  thought  and  feeling,  we  must  protest  against  the 
numerous  epic  ingredients  in  the  soliloquies.  There  are 
altogether  too  many  bits  of  self-characterization,  too  many 
anecdotes  and  personal  experiences  embodied  in  these  speeches. 

Hebbel's  theory  with  regard  to  the  use  of  the  soliloquy  is  set 
forth  in  three  entries  in  his  diary.  In  1838,  two  years  before 
the  completion  of  "Judith,"  he  made  the  following  entry: 
"  Wenn  der  Dichter  Charaktere  dadurch  zu  zeichnen  sucht,  dass 
er  sie  selbst  sprechen  lasst,  so  muss  er  sich  hiiten,  sie  iiber 
ihr  eigenes  Inneres  sprechen  zu  lassen.  Alle  ihre  Ausserungen 
miissen  sich  auf  etwas  Ausseres  beziehen:  nur  dann  spricht 
sich  ihr  Inneres  farbig  und  kraftig  aus,  denn  es  gestaltet  sich 
nur  in  den  Reflexen  der  Welt  und  des  Lebens."  This  splendid 
theory  was  unfortunately  ignored  all  too  often  in  the  frenzy  of 
composition.  In  1843  we  find  this  entry:  "  Monologe  im 
Drama  sind  nur  dann  statthaft,  wenn  im  Individuum  der  Dual- 
ismus  hervortritt,  so  dass  die  zwei  Personen,  die  sonst  immer 
zugleich  auf  der  Biihne  sein  sollen,  in  einer  Brust  ihr  Wesen 
zu  treiben  scheinen."  If  Hebbel  had  only  borne  this  injunction 
in  mind  we  should  have  been  spared  many  undramatic  solilo- 
quies. We  do  find  examples  of  this  type  in  his  works,  but 
infrequently.  His  last  entry  on  this  topic  is  made  in  1861 : 
"  Monologe ;  laute  Atemziige  der  Seele."  This  is  diametric- 
ally opposed  to  his  earlier  definition  and  indicates  a  dramatic 
retrogression.  Of  course,  no  objection  can  be  raised  to  this 
dictum  as  a  definition,  since  soliloquies  are  thoughts  and  emo- 
tions made  audible,  but  it  seems  to  be,  in  a  measure,  a  justifi- 
cation of  self-revealing  soliloquies  whether  cast  in  dramatic  or 
undramatic  mold.  Inasmuch  as  this  utterance  was  made  after 
the  completion  of  all  his  plays,  Hebbel  may  have  had  in  mind 
the  many  lyric  soliloquies  of  the  Golo  type. 

In  "Judith"  the  reflections  of  Holofernes  strike  a  specially 
discordant  note.  He  indulges  in  them  both  when  alone  and  in 
the  presence  of  his  retinue,  at  the  same  time  realizing  their 


90 

incongruity,  for  he  turns  to  his  followers  with  the  words :  "  Ihr 
wundert  euch  iiber  mich,  dass  ich  aus  meinem  Kopf  eine  Spindel 
mache  und  dem  Traum-  und  Hirnknauel  darin  Faden  nach 
Faden  abzwirne  wie  ein  Biindel  Flachs.  Freilich,  der  Gedanke 
ist  der  Dieb  am  Leben."^  His  long  self -characterizing  speech 
in  the  first  act,  as  well  as  his  reflective  and  descriptive  soliloquy 
in  the  fifth  act,  are  also  artistic  blemishes.  Nor  must  we  over- 
look Mirza's  loquaciousness,  which  regales  us  with  anecdotes 
in  the  most  approved  Sachsian  manner.^ 

"  Genoveva  "  is  fairly  swamped  with  soliloquies  and  unnatu- 
rally long  asides,  more  than  a  dozen  of  each  variety  being  deliv- 
ered by  Golo.  Of  these  Berger  says:  "  Er  (Hebbel)  hat  Golo 
nur  halb  als  objektive  Gestalt  gebildet,  denn  dieser  Char- 
akter  war  auch  ein  Gefass,  in  das  er  die  subjektive  Leiden- 
schaft  ergoss,  die  er  sich  vom  Leibe  schafFen  wollte.  Daher 
die  lyrischen  Monologe,  die  zuweilen  sogar  als  breite  Aparte 
den  bewegt  hinstiirmenden  Dialog  unterbrechen."^  Weszleny* 
also  condemns  these  soliloquies :  "  Die  haarspalterische  Seelen- 
qualerei  in  die  Hebbel  mit  Golo  hineingeraten  ist,  Hess  ihn 
auch  haufig,  haufiger  als  in  jedem  andern  seiner  Werke,  der 
Versuchung,  sein  Wesentlichstes  allein  oder  beiseite  auszu- 
sprechen,  erliegen.  Das  Schlimme  an  den  Monologen  ist,  dass 
sie  durchweg  Selbstpsychologie  enthalten.  Es  ist  nicht  die 
Selbstberatung,  nicht  das  Uberstromen  unzahmbaren  Gefiihls 
wie  bei  Hamlet,  sondern  die  angstliche  Selbstbeschauung  eines 
seelischen  WoUustlings,  das  besonders  in  den  Scenen  mit  Geno- 
veva storend  eingreift." 

Initial  exposition  soliloquies  are  scarce.  The  unimportant 
playlet  "Michel  Angelo," — which  is  directed  against  the  nar- 
row-mindedness of  critics  who  approve  only  of  the  products  of 
artists  such  as  already  occupy  a  niche  in  the  Hall  of  Fame  and 
consistently  condemn  products  of  contemporary  artists, — opens 
with  a  long  soliloquy  which  is  for  the  most  part  reflective,  show- 
ing us  Michel's  attitude  towards  art  and  critics.     The  exposi- 

1  Judith,  IV. 

2  Judith,  III,  beg. ;  IV. 

3  A.  V.  Berger,   Meine  Hamburgische  Dramaturgic. 

4  R.  Weszleny,  Hebbels  Genoveva,  p.  143. 


91 

tional  maiterial  contained  in  it  is  highly  attenuated,  the  long 
anecdote  which  he  relates  with  great  relish  having  absolutely 
no  bearing  on  the  play.  The  opening  soliloquy  in  "  Agnes 
Bernauer  "  does  little  but  inform  us  of  the  apprentice's  jealousy. 
A  belated  expositional  soliloquy  is  found  in  the  second  scene  of 
"  Ein  Trauerspiel  in  Sizilien,"  which  is  also  marred  by  an  inter- 
woven anecdote  of  no  consequence. 

Holofernes's  self-characterizing  speech  has  already  been 
alluded  to.  In  "  Genoveva  "  Siegfried  indulges  in  a  beautifully 
worded  bit  of  character  drawing : 

"  Ich  glaub'  ein  Mann  zu  sein,  was  es  auch  gilt, 
Nur  wenn's  zum  Scheiden  geht,  bin  ich  es  nicht, 
Da  geiz'  ich  nach  dem  tiefsten  Schmerz,  wie  nie 
Nach  Lust,  da  bohr'  ich  mich  in  Leid  und  Qual 
Hinein,  wie  Bienen  in  den  Bliitenkelch, 
Und  dann  erst,  wenn  ich,  zwischen  meinem  Weh 
Und  dem  des  andern  stehend,  wahlen  kann, 
In  welchen  Abgrund  ich  versinken  will, 
Besinne  ich  mich  wieder  auf  mich  selbst, 
Und  reisse  mich,  als  war's  vom  Leben  los."^ 

But  beauty  of  form  does  not  justify  such  an  undramatic  method 
of  presentation.  Count  Bertram's  violent  denunciation  of  him- 
self at  least  has  the  redeeming  feature  of  being  dramatically 
expressed :  "  So  ist's,  Jammermensch,  so  ist's  !  Bilde  dir  nicht 
ein,  dass  du  dich  zu  tief  herabsetzen  kannst !  Du  bist  solch  ein 
Aber  der  Menschheit,  das  sie  knirschend  hinzufiigt,  wenn  sie 
ihre  Casaren  und  Napoleone  aufgezahlt  hat.  .  .  .  Was  bleibt 
dir?  Nichts  als  die  HofTnung,  dass  es  vielleicht  noch  irgendvvo 
ein  Loch  in  der  Welt  gibt,  wo  ein  Kerl  wie  du,  der  nur  noch 
ein  Ding  ist,  hingestopft  werden  kann  wie  ein  Fetzen  in  einen 
Fensterriss."^  Benjamin's  portrayal  of  his  good  qualities  is 
also  enlivened  by  the  use  of  the  dialog  form.^  Instances  of  one 
person  characterizing  another  in  soliloquy  are  fairly  numerous. 
Purely  narrative  passages  are  altogether  too  frequent  and 
crude.     Hebbel  is  especially  fond  of  weaving  anecdotes  and 

1  Genoveva,  I,  i,  end. 

2  Julia,  I,  6. 

3  Der  Diamant,  I,  4. 


92 

personal  experiences  that  have  absolutely  no  dramatic  justifi- 
cation into  the  soliloquies.  A  quotation  of  one  of  the  numer- 
ous examples^  will  serve  our  purpose.  In  "  Maria  Magda- 
lena,"  I,  3,  Klara,  after  narrating  what  she  sees  from  the 
window  and  indulging  in  a  few  reflections,  suddenly  inserts  the 
following :  "  Einmal  sah  ich  ein  ganz  kleines  katholisches  Mad- 
chen,  das  seine  Kirschen  zum  Altar  trug.  Wie  gefiel  mir  das ! 
Es  waren  die  ersten  im  Jahr,  die  das  Kind  bekam,  ich  sah,  wie 
es  brannte,  sie  zu  essen!  Dennoch  bekampfte  es  seine  un- 
schuldige  Neugierde,  es  warf  sie,  um  nur  der  Versuchung  ein 
Ende  zu  machen,  rasch  hin,  der  Messpfaff,  der  eben  den  Kelch 
erhob,  schaute  finster  drein,  und  das  Kind  eilte  erschreckt  von 
dannen,  aber  die  Maria  iiber  dem  Altar  lachelte  so  mild,  als 
wiinschte  sie  aus  ihrem  Rahmen  herauszutreten,  um  dem  Kind 
nachzueilen  und  es  zu  kiissen !     Ich  tat's  f  iir  sie !  " 

Golo's  account  of  how  he  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  tower,^ 
Genoveva's  account  of  her  son's  behavior,^  Benjamin's  narra- 
tive of  the  trouble  the  stolen  gem  is  causing  him,*  Preising's 
two  instructive  speeches  in  the  fourth  act  of  "Agnes  Ber- 
nauer,"^  Agnes's  report  of  the  conversation  that  is  being  carried 
on  off  the  stage,^  are  some  of  the  numerous  narrative  soHlo- 
quies  found  in  the  plays. 

There  is  a  goodly  number  of  descriptive  soliloquies,  though 
they  are  not  as  frequent  as  those  of  the  narrative  type.  Holo- 
fernes's  unsavory  description,  "Judith,"  V,  Golo's  description 
of  Genoveva  as  she  lies  in  his  arms  unconscious,^  his  account  of 
her  confession  in  the  chapel,^  Maria's  description  at  the  win- 
dow,^ Leonhard's  characterization  of  Mary's  father,^*'  Jacob's 

1  Judith,  III ;  V.  both  by  Mirza.  Michel  Angelo,  beginning.  Der  Dia- 
mant,  I,  4.  Maria  Magdalena,  III,  7.  Der  Rubin,  II,  4.  Trauerspiel  in 
Sizilien,  I,  2. 

2  Genoveva,  II,  2. 

3  Nachspiel  zur  Genoveva,  beg. 

4  Der  Diamant,  II,  2. 

5  Agnes  Bernauer,  IV,  i,  IV,  3. 

6  Ihid.,  IV,  9. 

7  Genoveva,  I,  2. 

8  Genoveva,  III,  end. 

9  Maria  Magdalena,  I,  3. 
10/fctd.,  I,  4. 


93 

description  of  his  wife  and  the  jewel/  are  some  examples  of 
this  type.  Most  of  these  are  enlivened  by  the  use  of  exclama- 
tions, apostrophes  and  an  admixture  of  emotion. 

Intentional  soliloquies  occur,  as  well  as  intentional  appen- 
dices to  reflective  and  conflict  soliloquies.  The  former  type  is 
epic  and  undramatic,  as  the  following  will  show  : 

Golo.     "  Kein  Vaterunser  will  ich  sprechen  mehr, 
Kein  Ave,  wie  ich  sonst  doch  gerne  sprach, 
Wenn  morgens  cine  erste  Lerche  stieg, 
Wenn  abends  cine  feme  Glocke  klang. 
Von  jetzt  an  soil  mir  zum  Legendenbuch 
Das  Leben  Siegfrieds  dienen,  meines  Herrn, 
Gedenken  will  ich  all  der  Tugenden, 
Der  Tapferkeit,  des  hohen  Edelmuts,  etc."^ 

Herod's  two  conflict  soliloquies,  1, 4,  and  III,  both  ending  with 
a  decision,  are  hig'hly  dramatic.  Judith's  morbidly  introspective 
soliloquy.  III,  culminates  in  her  decision  to  kill  Holof  ernes ;  a 
reflective  and  descriptive  soliloquy  of  the  latter  concludes  with 
a  statement  informing  us  of  his  intentions.^ 

Reflective  soliloquies  of  the  retrospective  type  outnumber  the 
philosophic  variety.  Occasionally  the  two  types,  neither  one 
of  which  is  dramatic,  are  blended  into  one  speech.  "  Geno- 
veva"  and  "Julia"  are  well  supplied  with  reflective  speeches 
of  all  three  varieties.*  The  following  speech  by  Alberto  illus- 
trates the  intermingling  of  the  two  types :  "  Hatt'  ich's  vorher 
gewusst,  ich  hatte  mich  widersetzt !  Nun  ist's  zu  spat !  Aber 
der  hat  seine  Tochter  nie  geliebt!  Nur  das  Bild,  das  er  sich 
von  ihr  macbte !  Freilich  wer  liebt  anders !  Es  ist  nun  einmal 
das  Schicksal  des  Menschen,  dass  man  ihn  wegen  Eigenschaften 
verebrt  und  anbetet,  verabscheut  und  hasst,  die  er  gar  nicht 

1  Der  Diamant,  I,  2. 

2  Genoveva,  II,  3.  Other  examples:  Judith,  III,  2.  Diamant,  I,  5  ;  V, 
4.     Gyges,  II,  end. 

3  Judith,  V.  Other  examples:  Genoveva,  III,  12;  Maria  Magdalena,  III, 
i;  III,  7.  Herodes  u.  Mariamne,  I,  2;  IV,  7;  Gyges  u.  sein  Ring,  III,  by 
Rhodope. 

4  Genoveva,  II,  4;  III,  6;  III,  16;  V,  7.  Julia,  I,  4;  II.  i;  III,  3. 
Others:  Judith,  I;  Herodes,  I,  2;  IV,  6.  Agnes  B.,  I,  12;  III,  5.  Sieg- 
frieds Tod:  II,  4;  in,  5;  IV,  13;  Kriemhilds  Rache:  I,  3 ;  I,  7 ;  H.  6- 
(All  of  these  soliloquies  in  the  Nibelungen  trilogy  are  short  and  retro- 
spective.) 


94 

besitzt,  die  ihm  von  anderen  nur  geliehen  werden !  "^  Golo's 
soliloquy  after  he  has  murdered  Drago  illustrates  the  philo- 
sophic type : 

"Ein  Mord!     Was  ist  ein  Mord?    Was  ist  ein  Mensch? 
Ein  Nichts  !     So  ist  denn  auch  ein  Mord  ein  Nichts ! 
Und  wenn  ein  Mord  ein  Nichts  ist,  dien'  er  mir 
Als  Sporn  fiir  das,  was  wen'ger  als  ein  Mord, 
Und  also  wen'ger  als  ein  Nichts  noch  ist !  "^ 

It  is  noteworthy  that  the  six  soliloquies  in  "  Siegfrieds  Tod," 
four  of  them  reflective,  are  only  thirty-three  verses  long  and 
that  the  total  length  of  the  six  soliloquies  in  "  Kriemliilds 
Rache"  is  likewise  only  thirtynthree  verses  (four  of  these  are 
reflective) . 

The  philosophical  element  usually  forms  but  a  small  compo- 
nent part  of  a  reflective  soliloquy,  and  a  long  outburst  such  as 
Golo's  on  remorse,  V,  7,  is  scarce. 

Although  deliberative  soliloquies  are  very  rare,  Alexandra's 
speech,  II,  2,^  furnishes  a  good  example,  conflict  soliloquies  are 
rather  numerous.  Golo's  inner  conflicts  are  sometimes  laid 
bare  in  unpardonably  long  and  unnatural  asides,*  again  in  solil- 
oquy form."  The  asides,  however,  splendidly  illustrate  Heb- 
bel's  idea  of  a  justifiable  soliloquy,  viz.,  that  two  characters 
should  appear  to  be  speaking.  Maria's  two  conflict  soliloquies 
II,  6,  and  III,  8,®  as  well  as  Herod's  two  previously  mentioned 
speeches,^  are  splendid  examples  of  dramatic  craftsmanship. 
One  quotation  may  be  pardoned : 

"Warum  tu'  ich's  denn  nicht?  Werd'  ich's  nimmer  tun? 
Werd'  ich's  von  Tag  zu  Tag  aufschieben,  wie  jetzt  von  Minute 
zu  Minute,  bis — Gewiss!  Darum  fort!  .  .  .  Fort!  Und  doch 
bleib  ich  stehen!  Ist's  mir  nicht,  als  ob's  in  meinem  Schoss 
bittend  Hande  aufhobe,  als  ob  Augen  .  .  .  Was  soil  das?  Bist 
du  zu  schwach  dazu?     So  frag'  dich,  ob  du  stark  genug  bist, 

1  Julia,  I,  4. 

2  III,  16. 

3  H  erodes  und  Mariamne. 

4  11,  4;  III,  4;  III,  10. 

5  11,  s;  HI,  5. 

6  Maria  Magdalene. 

7  Herodes  und  Mariamne,  I,  4 ;  III,  end. 


95 

deinen  Vater  mit  aufgeschnittener  Kehle  .  .  .  Nein!  Nein! 
.  .  .  Vater  unser,  der  du  bist  im  Himmel  .  .  .  Geheiliget  werde 
dein  Reich  .  .  .  Gott,  Gott,  mein  armer  Kopf  .  .  .  ich  kann 
nicht  einmal  beten  .  ,  ."^ 

A  few  of  the  more  striking  emotional  soliloquies  aside  from 
those  occurring  in  "  Genoveva,"  which  illustrate  practically 
every  phase  of  love  and  jealousy,  are  Rhodope's  beautiful  out- 
cry of  grief  in  "  Gyges,"  III,  i,  IV,  i,  Klara's  pathetic  outcry  of 
remorse,  II,  2,  her  despairing  soHloquy,  II,  6,  and  Judith's  mor- 
bid introspective  speech,  III,  in  which  she  tabulates  all  the  emo- 
tions that  have  swept  over  her  since  the  beginning  of  the  siege. 

Hebbel  makes  it  plain  that  some  of  his  soliloquies  are  to  be 
regarded  as  thought  soliloquies,  while  others  must  be  taken  as 
speech  soliloquies.  So  Leonhard  interrupts  a  conflict  soliloquy 
with:  "Da  kommt  jemand!  Gott  sei  Dank,  nichts  ist  schmah- 
licher,  als  sich  mit  seinen  eigenen  Gedanken  abzanken  mtissen ! 
Eine  Rebellion  im  Kopf,  wo  man  Wurm  nach  Wurm  gebiert 
und  einer  den  anderen  frisst  oder  in  den  Schwanz  beisst,  ist  die 
Schlimmste  von  alien !  "^  Alexandra,  while  delivering  a  solilo- 
quy, stamps  it  as  a  speech  soliloquy  when  she  says : 

"...  Das  nicht !     Sprich  wie  du  denkst, 
Der  Pharisaer  lauscht  nicht  vor  der  Tiir !  "^ 

On  the  whole,  then,  the  faults  of  Hebbel's  soHIoquies  out- 
weigh their  virtues,  the  many  crudities  striking  a  discordant 
note.  His  technic  of  the  soliloquy  is  on  a  considerably  lower 
level  than  that  of  the  immortal  triad. 

2.  Otto  Ludzmg 

Ludwig's  name  is  usually  associated  with  that  of  Hebbel  as  a 
forerunner  of  modern  realistic  drama.  From  the  mass  of  his 
plans,  sketches  and  fragments,  a  veritable  mountain  of  ruins, 
but  two  dramas  stand  out  as  really  great  productions :  "  Der 
Erbforster "  and  "  Die  IMakkabaer."  The  continual  conflict 
between  objectivity,  which  he  admired  so  greatly  in  Shake- 

1  Maria  M.,  Ill,  8.  Other  examples:  Diamant:  I,  4;  IV,  2;  V,  4. 
Julia,  II,  12.     Agnes  B.,  I,  i. 

2  Maria  Magdalena,  III,  5. 

3  Herodes  u.  Mariamnc,  II,  2. 


96 

speare  and  sought  to  press  into  service,  and  his  natural  subjec- 
tivity resulted  in  indecision  and  unproducitivity. 

Several  of  his  utterances  in  his  dramatic  studies  point  to 
Ibsen's  technic,  especially  when  he  says  :  "  Die  giinsitigste  Hand- 
lung  ist  ein  einfacher  Stoff,  in  dem  eine  nichit  zu  grosse  Anzahl 
durch  Gemiitsart,  Intentionen  usw.  scharf  kontrastierter  Per- 
sonen  vom  Anfang  bis  zum  Ende  auf  einen  moglichst  engen 
Raum  zusammengedrangt  sind."^  Another  interesting  dictum 
defines  a  good  drama  as  really  nothing  but  a  catastrophe  and  its 
careful  motivation  through  characters  and  situations.^ 

His  theory  regarding  the  soliloquy  is  set  forth  in  his  studies 
at  frequent  intervals.  Witbouit  exception  tliese  expressions 
shovvr  him  to  be  a  warm  friend  and  admirer  of  this  convention 
when  it  acquaints  us  with  the  secret  thoughts  and  emotions  of 
the  speaker.  In  a  chapter  entitled  "  Der  Monolog  "  he  writes : 
"  Wie  sehr  man  iiber  das  Wesen  des  Dramatischen  im  Irrtum 
ist,  kann  die  jetzt  geltende  Kegel  zeigen:  so  wenig  als  moglich 
Monologe!  Es  kann  keinen  grossern  Missverstand  geben  als 
diesen:  denn  in  Wahrheit  lahmt  ein  Monolog  so  wenig,  dass 
eben  die  Monologe  das  eigentlich  Dramatische  sind.  Nur  frei- 
lich  Monologe  im  rechten  Sinne."^  He  considers  a  soliloquy 
proper  only  when  its  object  is  to  represent  the  ethical  and  psy- 
chological content  of  an  event.  But  when  a  little  later  on  he 
states  that  Shakespeare's  and  Lessing's  dramas  are  only  a  series 
of  soliloquies  with  intervening  motives  one  can  but  smile  at 
this  reductio  ad  absurdum. 

Ludwig  boldly  assents  that  mere  pantomime  can  not  reveal 
the  speaker's  thoughts  and  emotions.  Shakespeare's  charac-. 
ters  think  aloud  as  it  were,  according  to  him.  He  goes  on  to 
say  that  in  reality  only  a  part  of  one's  thoughts  and  emotions 
are  expressed,  but  that  Shakespeare  brings  all  this  to  utterance. 
"  Blosse  Gebarden  des  Schauspielers  tun  es  nicht  (die  inneren 
Zustande  zu  versinnlichen  und  dem  Zuhorer  mitzuteilen) ,  und 
der  Phantasie  des  Zuschauers  kann  man  nicht  zumuten,  die 
Patisen  zu  erganzen."* 

1  Dramatische  Studien,  in  chapter:  Dramatische  Stofife. 

2  Ibid.,  Entwicklung  der  Situation. 

3  Ibid.,  Der  Monolog. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  92,  ed.  by  A.  Eloesser. 


97 

How  thoroughly  he  realizes  that  the  soliloquy  is  a  convention 
is  made  clear  when  he  says :  "Wo  die  Natur  im  hochsten  Grade 
desAffekts  stumm  ist  oder  nur  einen  Hauch,  eine  Interjektion 
hervorbringt,  da  iibersetzt  Shakespeare  den  Hauch,  den  Seuf- 
zer,  das  Stohnen  in  einen  plastischen  langern  Ausruf,  der  die 
GefiJhle  zusammenfasst  in  einen  pragnanten  Satz."^  And 
again :  "  Die  Entwicklung  eines  interessanten  Charakters  ist  nur 
in  Monologen  moglich."^ 

Before  considering  Ludwig's  technic  of  the  soliloquy  in  his 
masterpieces  a  glance  at  his  earliest  dramatic  venture,  "  Hans 
Frei,"  a  comedy  dealing  with  medieval  Niirnberg  conditions, 
is  of  interest.  His  technic  of  the  soliloquy  in  this  play  is  ex- 
ceedingly crude,  the  comedy  fairly  teeming  with  soliloquies  and 
asides  in  the  most  approved  Sachsian  manner.  Compared  with 
this  play  Ludwig's  masterpieces  show  decided  progress  both  in 
the  character  of  the  soliloquy  as  well  as  in  the  remarkably  tem- 
perate use  of  same. 

In  "Die  Makkabaer"  the  second,  third  and  fifth  acts  are 
entirely  devoid  of  soliloquies  though  not  of  asides.  Lea's  two 
soliloquies  in  the  fourth  act  are  powerful  and  dramatic  depic- 
tions of  the  emotions  that  surge  through  her  breast.  The  first 
of  Judah's  two  soliloquies,  I,  end,  is  reflective  and  permeated 
with  disgust;  the  second  IV,  i,  is  descriptive,  emotional  and 
intentional  and  withal  dramatic  in  form,  a  real  talking  to 
himself: 

"  Wie  Sicherheit  hier  mit  bequemem  Fliigel, 
Dies  Lager  briitet.     Kein  Verhau!     Kein  Graben ! 
Ist  Judah  tot?    Ist  er  ein  Tor  geworden, 
Dass  man  ihn  hohnen  darf?     Geduld,  bis  dir 
Die  ausgefallnen  Schwingen  wieder  wachsen ; 
Dann  zahl'  die  neue  Schuld  ihm  mit  der  alten. 
Nun  nach  Jerusalem  !  "  ^ 

The  empty  stage  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  act  of  "Der 
Erbforster,"  followed  by  considerable  pantomime,  is  an  inter- 
esting forerunner  of  present  day  realistic  methods.     The  short 

1  Dramatische  Studien,  p.  138. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  139. 

3  IV,  I. 


98 

soliloquy  which  follows  is  a  dramatic  translation  of  her  anxious 
thoughts  into  words.  The  eight  soliloquies  are  all  short  and 
dramatic.  Exclamations,  questions,  often  a  real  talking  to 
one's  self,  characterize  these  soliloquies.  The  expositional  ele- 
ment is  very  infrequent/  most  of  the  speeches  being  reflective 
or  emotional.  The  announcing  of  the  approaching  actor  is  a 
favorite  device,  as  it  was  with  Lessing.  Stein's  soliloquy,  II, 
beginning,  illustrates  many  of  the  above  mentioned  charac- 
teristics : 

"  Verwiinschter  alter  Eigensinn !  Der  ganze  schone  Tag  ver- 
dorben.  Jetzt  sassen  wir  bei  Tisch,  Recht  mag  er  schon  haben, 
dass  das  Durchforsten  nicht  i-augt.  Aber  muss  er  mich  desshalb 
so  in  Rage  bringen?  Freilich  ich  miisste  kliiger  sein  als  er. 
Meine  Hitze  war  auch  mit  schuld. — Mich  dauert  nur  die  Forsterin 
— und  die  Kinder.  Ich  will  auch — (Steht  auf,  setzt  sich  wieder). 
Was  denn?  Eine  Torheit  mit  der  andern  gut  machen?  So  un- 
iiberlegt  im  Xachgeben  sein,  wie  ich's  im  Uebelnehmen  war? 
Alter  Sprudelkopf !  Aber  das  soil  mir  eine  Lehre  sein. — (Kleine 
Pause,  dann  steht  er  wieder  auf,  nimmt  Hut  und  Stock  und  wirft 
beides  wieder  hin.)  Nein,  es  geht  nicht;  es  geht  durchaus  nicht. 
Was?  Das  war  eine  Blamage,  nie  wieder  gut  zu  machen.  Dies- 
mal  muss  er  kommen;  ich  kann  ihm  nicht  helfen.  Aber  er  hat 
vielleicht  schon  .  .  .  ist  das  nicht  Moller?" 

Summing  up  then,  Ludwig's  soliloquies  are  short,  dramatic 
and  legitimately  used,  i.  e.,  to  convey  thoughts  and  emotions 
which  would  otherwise  remain  unexpressed.  His  fidelity  to 
the  convention  stamps  him  as  a  conservative  adherent  to  classi- 
cal tradition  not  as  an  innovator.  Credit  is  due  him  however 
for  the  avoidance  of  the  crude  makeshift  of  the  expositional 
soliloquy. 

3.  Ltidzi'ig  Ansengniber 

"  Through  his  healthy  realism  Anzengruber  paved  the  way  in 
a  striking  manner  for  the  naturalistic  movement  that  followed, 
although  he  has  nothing  in  common  with  its  perversities."' 
According  to  R.  M.  Meyer,  Anzengruber  was  recognized  as 
the  foremost  dramatist  in  Germany  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
"  With  his  dramas  realism  entered  upon  the  stage.     His  serious 

1 IV,  7,  Der  Erbforster. 

2  Max.  Koch,  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Literatur,  p.  483. 


99 

realistic  drama  is  entitled  to  a  position  alongside  of  the  serious 
classical  drama,  his  '  volkstiimliche '  comedy  deserves  a  place 
beside  the  classical  comedy  of  Grillparzer  and  Kleist.''^ 

Examining  four  representative  plays,  viz.,  "  Der  Pfarrer  von 
Kirchfeld,"  "  Der  Meineidbauer,"  "  Die  Kreuzelschreiber  "  and 
"  Das  vierte  Gebot,"  we  find  that  Anzengruber's  technic  of  the 
soliloquy  is  essentially  that  of  the  classical  period  and  in  no 
manner  foreshadows  the  technic  employed  by  the  naturalists 
who  followed  him.  Although  he  avoids  purely  expositional 
speeches,  we  do  find  epic  admixtures  occasionally,  and,  what  is 
worse,  disproportionately  long  speeches  in  the  dialog  which  con- 
vey expositional  material,  as,  e.  g.,  in  "  Der  Meineidbauer." 
The  gradual  presentation  of  expositional  material  in  the  last 
mentioned  play  reminds  one  of  Ibsen's  technic,  but  Anzengru- 
ber's method  is  crude  and  transparent  as  compared  with  that 
of  the  Scandinavian. 

1  Die  deutsche  Literatur  des  19.  Jahrhunderts,   R.  M.  Meyer,  p.  659. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Recent  Developments 

I,  Hauptmann 
The  technic  of  the  modern  German  realistic  drama,  notably 
that  of  its  chief  exponent,  Gerhart  Hauptmann,  is  indebted  to 
such  an  extent  to  Ibsen's  technic,  that  a  brief  discussion  of 
Ibsen's  technic  and  its  influence  upon  German  drama  will  not 
be  amiss.  This  influence  is  set  forth  in  a  very  illuminating 
manner  by  A.  von  Berger:  "Of  the  different  elements  which 
are  amalgamated  in  Ibsen's  mental  physiognomy  and  impart  to 
it  the  modern  expression,  the  scientific  point  of  view  and  man- 
ner of  presentation  and  everything  connected  with  it  have  ex- 
erted the  most  stimulating  and  fruitful  influence  upon  German 
drama.  Ibsen,  accordingly,  was  the  source  of  the  entire  flood 
of  realistic  psychological  milieu  dramas  which  has  poured  over 
Germany  since  the  middle  of  the  eighties  and  has  not  subsided 
yet.  Perhaps '  Ibsen's  significance  and  service  for  German 
poetry  is  best  expressed  by  saying  that  he  created  a  form  of  art, 
a  style  and  a  technic  which  has  proven  itself  capable  of  appro- 
priating life  as  it  unfolds  itself  when  seen  by  modern  observ- 
ers and  analyzed  by  modern  psychologists.  The  essence  of  this 
technic  consists  in  the  exclusion  of  all  theatrical  conventions 
from  the  dramatic  form  which  do  not  correspond  to  reality. 
Its  aim  is  the  impression  as  though  we  were  witnesses  of  scenes 
from  life  and  conversations  which  are  given  as  though  they 
were  not  being  listened  to.  The  characters  of  the  old  drama 
do  not  entirely  ignore  the  spectator;  they  say  many  things  for 
the  sake  of  the  spectator  which  real  people  who  are  thoroughly 
engrossed  in  their  affairs  could  not  possibly  say.  The  charac- 
ters in  Ibsen's  plays  do  not  seem  to  suspect  that  they  are  fig- 
ures in  a  drama  performed  for  an  audience.  Everything  that 
smacks  of  the  theater  is  to  be  rejected.  Above  all,  then,  the 
monolog,  but  also  many  other  things  that  resemble  the  mono- 
100 


101 

log:  asides,  conversations  in  which  the  characters  tell  each 
other  things  they  already  know,  merely  so  that  the  audience 
will  be  informed,  characterization  which  in  the  last  analysis  is 
nothing  more  than  the  assurance  by  some  one  that  he  has  this 
or  that  characteristic.  The  German  realists  since  the  eighties 
have  adopted  Ibsen's  technic  and  adapted  it  to  their  needs. 

Striking  fidelity  to  reality,  absolute  spontaneity,  exact  moti- 
vation even  to  the  most  minute  detail,  these  three  things  define 
the  essence  of  the  dramatic  form  that  has  its  origin  in  Ibsen. 
This  form  made  possible  the  formation  of  the  realistic  milieu 
drama,  whose  chief  exponent  is  Hauptmann."^ 

Ibsen  shows  a  decided  preference  for  the  analytical  drama, 
in  which  the  action  is  practically  ended  before  the  curtain  rises 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  play  devoted  to  the  unfolding  of 
the  expositional  material — Archer  refers  to  it  as  the  retro- 
spective method — ^but  he  also  uses  the  synthetic  form  in  which 
the  action  is  developed  and  takes  place  in  the  drama,  and  a 
combination  of  the  two  methods.  "  Ghosts,"  "  Rosmersholm," 
"  The  Wild  Duck,"  and  "  John  Gabriel  Borkmann  "  are  types 
of  the  analytical  drama;  "The  Comedy  of  Love,"  "The  Pre- 
tenders," "  Brand,"  "  Peer  Gynt,"  "  Emperor  and  Galilean  "  and 
"  The  League  of  Youth  "  are  types  of  the  synthetic  drama,  and 
"A  Doll's  House,"  "Hedda  Gabler,"  "Little  Eyolf"  and 
"The  Lady  from  the  Sea"  show  a  mixture  of  the  two  types. 
Ibsen's  analytical  drama  in  which  the  conditions  of  the  soul, 
"etats  d'ames,"  rather  than  outward  conditions,  "etats  des 
choses,"  are  represented,  exerted  a  powerful  influence  upon 
Hauptmann. 

Ibsen's  technic  in  his  early  historical  and  fantastic  plays 
in  verse  was  on  a  friendly  footing  with  the  soliloquy.  When 
he  turned  to  the  prose  tragedy  of  every-day  life,  however,  a 
change  of  technic  is  noticeable.  Beginning  with  "  The  Pillars 
of  Society,"  the  soliloquy  is  almost  entirely  dropped.  To  be 
sure  a  few  short  soliloquies  occur  in  the  last  mentioned  play 
and  in  "A  Doll's  House,"  but  these  cases  are  exceptional. 
Here  and  there  we  find  short  outbursts  by  persons  left  alone  on 

1  A.  V.  Berger,  "  Uber  Drama  u.  Theater,"  p.  2^  fF.,  Leipzig,   1900. 


102 

the  stage,  as,  e.  g.,  when  Hedda  burns  up  the  manuscript,  end 
of  act  III;  Hilde,  end  of  act  II  of  "The  Alaster  Builder"; 
Mrs.  BorkmanfTat  the  beginning  of  "John  Gabriel  Bork- 
mann";  Werle  at  the  end  of  Act  I,  and  Hjalmar  in  Act  V  of 
"The  Wild  Duck."  To  all  intents  and  purposes,  then,  the 
later  plays,  the  plays  whose  technic  influenced  the  dramatists 
of  other  countries,  are  devoid  of  soliloquies. 

Ibsen,  however,  was  not  the  only  dramatist  who  influenced 
Hauptmann's  technic.  The  influence  exerted  by  the  joint  pro- 
duction of  Holz  and  Schlaf,  "Die  Familie  Selicke,"  upon 
Hauptmann  was  profound.  Especially  "  Vor  Sonnenaufgang," 
which  incidentally  is  dedicated  to  Holz  and  Schlaf,  is  greatly 
indebted  to  the  above  mentioned  tour  de  force.  "  Die  Familie 
Selicke"  unrolls  a  page  from  the  seamy  side  of  life  just  as  it 
might  be  enacted  before  an  invisible  spectator.  The  natural- 
istic portrayal  of  conditions  as  set  forth  in  this  play  eschews 
soliloquies,  asides  and  all  remarks  ordinarily  made  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  spectator.  Both  the  minute  and  painstaking  depic- 
tion of  conditions  as  well  as  the  avoidance  of  the  convention 
of  the  soliloquy  have  undoubtedly  left  their  impression  upon 
Hauptmann's  work.  A  gripping  psychological  drama,  "  Meis- 
ter  Oelze,"  written  by  Schlaf  after  the  dissolution  of  the  liter- 
ary partnership,  deserves  mention.  The  treatment  is  natural- 
istic throughout  and  but  two  short  outbursts  under  the  stress 
of  the  greatest  emotion  occur. 

In  discussing  Hauptmann's  technic  of  the  soliloquy,  I  shall 
confine  myself  to  the  realistic  dramas.  With  the  exception  of 
short  emotional  outbursts  by  characters  who  are  left  alone  on 
the  stage,  similar  to  those  found  in  Ibsen's  later  dramas,  nothing 
remotely  resembling  a  soliloquy  occurs.  Bearing  in  mind  that 
the  soliloquy  is  a  convention,  we  can  hardly  refer  to  these  brief 
utterances  as  soliloquies,  inasmuch  as  it  is  quite  common  in 
every-day  life  to  give  vent  to  short  ejaculations  when  overcome 
with  some  emotion.  "  It  happens  rather  frequently  that  an  ex- 
cited person  soliloquizes.  But  cases  in  which  this  is  in  accord- 
ance with  reality  are  not  soliloquies  in  the  technical  sense,  and 
even  the  naturalists  raise  no  objection  to  them.  Only  such 
speeches  can  be  regarded  as  soliloquies  which  are  delivered  on 


103 

the  stage  with  the  assumption  that  that  which  we  hear  is  only 
thought  and  not  really  spoken."^ 

What  takes  the  place  of  the  soliloquy  in  Hauptmann?  Are 
the  substitutes  which  he  offers  for  expositional  soliloquies, 
soliloquies  of  thought  and  emotion  and  conflict,  satisfactory? 
In  conveying  the  exposition  Hauptmann  follows  in  the  foot- 
steps of  Ibsen,  who  shows  remarkable  skill  in  that  particular. 
Setting  aside  the  crude  expositional  soliloquy,  many  playwrights 
resort  to  the  convenient  French  confidant.  Not  so  Ibsen.  Nor 
does  he  resort  to  the  naive  expedient  of  having  persons  on  the 
stage  converse  about  things  which  are  absolutely  familiar  to 
themselves  merely  to  acquaint  the  audience  with  them.  The 
return  of  a  friend  or  acquaintance  who  has  not  kept  up  the 
correspondence  and  naturally  has  to  be  informed  of  what  has 
occurred  during  the  interim  is  a  favorite  device  of  Ibsen.  Lona 
Hessel  and  John  Tonnesen  return  after  a  long  absence  in  "  The 
Pillars  of  Society,"  Mrs.  Linde  in  "  The  Doll's  House,"  Pastor 
Manders  and  Oswald  in  "Ghosts";  Kroll  meets  Rebekka 
after  a  long  interval  in  "  Rosmersholm ; "  in  "  The  Lady  of  the 
Sea"  Arnholm  and  the  Stranger  return;  in  "  Hedda  Gabler" 
Tesman  and  Hedda  return  from  a  trip,  while  Thea  and  Eilert 
appear  after  years  of  absence,  etc.  This  device  is  also  em- 
ployed by  Hauptmann  in  several  of  his  plays.  In  "  Vor  Son- 
nenaufgang"  Alfred  Loth  visits  Hoffmann  after  an  interim  of 
ten  years;  in  "Das  Friedensfest "  Dr.  Scholz  as  well  as  his 
son  Wilhelm  returns  after  a  long  absence ;  in  "  Einsame  Men- 
schen  "  Anna  Mahr  enters  a  household  and  disrupts  it. 

What  of  the  speaker's  secret  thoughts  and  aspirations,  the 
torturing  doubts  and  racking  conflicts  that  beset  his  soul  ?  How 
are  they  made  known  to  the  audience  now  that  the  soliloquy  is 
out  of  the  question?  By  means  of  pantomime  and  facial  ex- 
pression! Elaborate  stage  directions,  sometimes  a  page  in 
length,  are  inserted  by  the  author  ostensibly  for  the  actor's 
guidance  in  the  interpretation  of  inner  thoughts,  emotions  and 
conflicts  by  means  of  facial  expression  and  pantomime.  But 
if  as  a  matter  of  fact  some  of  the  demands  made  upon  facial 

1  Hans  Sittenbcrger,  Die  Wahrheit  auf  dcr  Biihnc,  p.  31.  Vienna,   1893- 


104 

expression  are  impossible  of  execution,  as  I  shall  shortly  dem- 
onstrate, then  the  stage  directions,  in  part  at  least,  are  intended 
for  the  reader  and  are  epic,  not  dramatic.  Although  pardon- 
able in  a  closet-drama,  this  method  of  procedure  is  entirely  out 
of  place  in  a  drama  intended  for  the  stage.  And  even  where 
the  stage  directions  are  capable  of  execution,  the  spectator  sees 
things  more  or  less  through  a  veil  and  has  to  indulge  in  con- 
jecture as  to  what  the  author  is  really  driving  at.  I  venture  to 
suggest  that  the  actual  thoughts,  the  conflicting  emotions  them- 
selves are  of  more  interest  to  the  spectator  than  the  mere  knowl- 
edge that  the  actor  is  thinking  or  passing  through  an  inner 
conflict. 

Some  of  Hauptmann's  stage-directions  cannot  possibly  be 
executed,  while  others  must  certainly  tax  the  ingenuity  of  the 
actors  to  the  utmost.  In  "Vor  Sonnenaufgang,"  e.  g.,  Frau 
Krause  on  one  occasion  is  asked  to  be  "  blaurot  vor  Wut,"  on 
another  "puterrot."  In  "Das  Friedensfest "  he  makes  a  de- 
mand which  only  an  actor  with  the  characteristics  of  a  chamel- 
eon can  suitably  interpret :  "  Seine  Farbe  wechselt  oft."  Here- 
upon the  much  abused  face  is  to  show  plainly  how  conflicting 
emotions  rack  his  soul  and  how  his  previously  made  resolution 
begins  to  weaken :  "  Hierauf  is  deutlich  wahrzunehmen  wie 
Stromungen  fiir  und  wieder  in  ihm  kampfen, — wie  er  in  seinem 
Entschluss  wankend  wird."  Not  indistinctly  mark  you,  but 
plainly !  Then,  when  his  father  appears,  he  is  asked  to  portray 
a  violent  inner  struggle  by  means  of  pantomime :  "  Wilhelm 
scheint  einen  Seelenkampf  physisch  durchzuringen."  At  the 
end  of  the  first  act  of  "  Einsame  Menschen,"  the  stage  direc- 
tions tell  us  that:  "In  Kathe  ist  etwas  vorgegangen !"  What? 
And  how  is  this  mysterious  something  to  be  presented  to  the 
audience  ? 

Again  the  stage-directions  are  filled  with  characterizing  and 
descriptive  bits  which  suggest  the  spurned  characterizing  solilo- 
quy. The  action  itself  ought  to  bring  out  these  characteristics. 
The  author  is  making  use  of  the  prerogatives  of  the  novel,  he 
employs  the  epic  method,  inasmuch  as  these  statements  are 
intended  for  the  reader,  not  the  spectator  in  the  theater.  The 
directions  at  the  beginning  of  "  Die  Weber  "  are  the  best  ex- 


105 

ample  of  this  undramatic  method  of  procedure :  "  Die  meisten 
der  harrenden  Webersleute  gleichen  Menschen,  die  vor  die 
Schranken  des  Gerichts  gestellt  sind,  wo  sie  in  peinigender 
Gespanntheit  eine  Entscheidung  iiber  Tod  und  Leben  zu  er- 
warten  haben.  Hinwiederum  haf tet  alien  etwas  Gedriicktes,  dem 
Almosenempfanger  Eigentiimliches  an,  der,  von  Demiitigung  zu 
Demiitigung  schreitend,  im  Bewusstsein,  nur  geduldet  zu  sein, 
sich  so  klein  als  moglich  zu  machen  gewohnt  ist.  Dazu  kommt  ein 
starrer  Zug  resultatlosen,  bohrenden  Griibelns  in  alien  Mienen. 
Die  Manner,  einander  ahnelnd,  halb  zwerghaft,  halb  schulmei- 
sterlich,  sind  in  der  Mehrzahl  flachbriistige,  hiistelnde,  armliche 
Menschen  mit  schmutzigblasser  Gesichtsf arbe :  Geschopfe  des 
Webstuhls,  deren  Kniee  infolge  vielen  Sitzens  gekriimmt  sind. 
Ihre  Weiber  zeigen  weniger  Typisches  auf  den  ersten  Blick; 
sie  sind  aufgelost,  gehetzt,  abgetrieben,  wahrend  die  Manner 
eine  gewisse  klagliche  Gravitat  noch  zur  Schau  tragen  und  zer- 
lumpt,  wo  die  Manner  geflickt  sind."  In  "  Vor  Sonnenauf- 
gang"  we  are  informed  that  Mrs.  Krause's  deportment  and 
clothing  betray  pride,  stupid  arrogance  and  absurd  vanity,  also 
that  her  face  is  hard,  sensual  and  wicked ;  that  Hoffman's  ex- 
pression is  "  verschwommen " ;  that  Kahl  would  like  to  play 
both  the  gentleman  as  well  as  the  man  of  wealth,  that  his  fea- 
tures are  coarse  and  his  expression  mostly  "  dummpfiffig." 

The  most  striking  example  of  epic  treatment  is  shown  in  a 
direction  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  act  of  the  same  play 
which  reads:  "hierauf  die  feierliche  Morgenstille ;"  Even  a 
past  master  of  stage  effects  might  well  be  perplexed  at  this 
demand.  It  would  also  tax  his  ingenuity  to  present  a  sultry 
day  towards  the  end  of  May,  called  for  in  the  introduction  to 
"  Die  Weber." 

2.  Sudermann 

In  contrast  to  Hauptmann,  who  devoted  the  greatest  atten- 
tion to  the  portrayal  of  existing  conditions,  the  milieu,  Suder- 
mann's  chief  aim  is  a  stirring  exciting  action.  Opposed  to  the 
negative,  passive  heroes  of  the  former,  Sudermann  presents  us 
with  positive,  active  protagonists.  In  contrast  to  the  messen- 
ger from  the  outside  world  who  attempts  to  relieve  conditions 


106 

in  Hauptmann's  dramas,  Sudermann  has  the  hero  himself 
return  from  distant  parts  to  stir  up  a  conflict  between  two  con- 
tending points  of  view,  as  in  "Die  Ehre,"  "Die  Heimat," 
"  Gliick  im  Winkel "  and  others. 

What  as  to  his  technic  of  the  soliloquy?  In  "Die  Ehre," 
his  first  dramatic  venture,  we  find  three  short  soliloquies^  and 
numberless  asides;  six  in  the  first  act,  eleven  in  the  second, 
twelve  in  the  third  and  six  in  the  fourth,  a  total  of  thirty-five. 
The  soliloquies  are  of  the  reflective  type  with  an  intentional  end- 
ing, thus  having  some  dramatic  justification  as  they  affect  the 
action.  The  chief  blemish  of  the  play  are  the  long  didactic 
speeches  of  Trast,  the  mouthpiece  of  the  author,  in  the  style 
of  the  French  raisonneur. 

In  "  Sodom's  Ende "  soliloquies  are  fairly  numerous.  The 
author  aims  this  satirical  thrust  at  the  soliloquy,  when  he  has 
Adah  say,  I,  lo,  "  Ich  iiberlasse  Sie  dem  Monolog,  Herr  Pro- 
fessor, den  Sie  sogleich  iiber  unsere  Verderbtheit  halten  wer- 
den."  Whereupon  the  professor  does  deliver  a  soliloquy, 
although  he  avoids  the  type  suggested.  The  soliloquies  are  for 
the  most  part  reflective,^  with  one  very  dramatic  conflict  solil- 
oquy by  Willy  between  his  baser  and  his  better  self,  ending  in 
a  victory  for  the  latter.^ 

In  "  Die  Heimat,"  his  most  effective  stage  play,  the  soliloquy 
does  not  occur  at  all  and  but  three  asides  are  found.  The  same 
holds  true  of  "Johannes,"  in  which  but  one  aside  occurs. 
"  Teja  "  and  "  Fritzchen  "  eschew  both  soliloquies  and  asides. 

When  we  turn  to  the  idealistic  drama,  however,  we  meet 
with  the  customary  technic  of  the  soliloquy.  In  Hauptmann's 
"Die  versunkene  Glocke,"  Sudermann's  "Die  drei  Reiher- 
federn,"  Fulda's  "  Der  Talisman,"  all  symbolic  dramas,  the 
convention  is  employed  as  it  was  in  the  dramas  of  the  classical 
period.  There  seems  to  be  a  tacit  admission,  then,  on  the  part 
of  the  modern  realistic  playwrights  that  the  soliloquy,  however 
out  of  place  in  realistic  drama,  has  a  perfectly  justifiable  place 
in  idealistic  drama. 

HI,  10 ;  III,  4;  IV,  3. 

2  IV,  s;  IV,  :6;  IV,  17;  end  of  the  play. 

3  III,   17. 


107 

To  round  out  this  discussion  it  will  be  necessary  to  consider 
briefly  two  new  tendencies  in  modern  German  drama,  one  re- 
vitalizing the  Greek  drama,  the  other  the  Romantic  Drama. 
Hugo  von  Hofmannsthal's  "  Elektra  "  and  "  Oedipus  "  furnish 
the  best  examples  of  the  former  movement.  Of  the  two, 
"  Elektra  "  shows  the  closer  resemblance  to  Sophocles's  drama 
of  the  same  title  upon  which  it  is  based.  Strictly  speaking,  the 
presence  of  the  chorus  in  Sophocles's  drama  makes  a  real  solil- 
oquy impossible,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact,  Elektra  is  so  overcome 
w^ith  grief  when  she  delivers  her  outbursts  of  sorrow,  that  she  is 
entirely  oblivious  of  the  presence  of  the  chorus  and  therefore, 
to  all  intents  and  purposes,  delivers  genuine  soliloquies.  Later, 
in  the  third  Epeisodion,  when  Orestes  gives  her  an  urn  sup- 
posed to  contain  her  father's  ashes,  Elektra  again  gives  vent  to 
her  feelings  as  though  no  one  were  present.  In  the  classic 
drama  we  accordingly  have  what  amounts  to  three  soliloquies. 
In  Hofmannsthal's  version  we  find  a  long  morbidly  passionate 
soliloquy,  which  corresponds  to  Elektra's  first  soliloquy  in 
Sophocles's  version.  It  is  dramatic  in  form,  practically  all  of 
it  being  addressed  to  her  dead  father.  Compared  with  the 
original,  it  shows  the  following  points  of  difference.  The  com- 
parative calm  and  dignity  of  the  original  is  translated  into 
torrid  passion  writhing  in  lust  for  blood : 

"  So  wie  aus  umgeworfnen  Kriigen  wird's 
aus  den  gebundnen  Mordern  fliessen,  rings 
wie  Marmorkriige  werden  nackte  Leiber 
von  alien  ihren  Helfern  sein,  von  Mannern 
und  Frauen,  und  in  einem  Schwall,  in  einem 
geschwollnen  Bach  wird  ihres  Lebens  Leben 
aus  ihnen  sturzen." 

The  description  of  the  murder  is  given  in  greater  detail  and  the 
call  for  revenge  in  the  original  gives  way  to  a  bloody  descrip- 
tion of  the  manner  in  which  she  will  avenge  her  father.  Sev- 
eral asides  and  a  short  soliloquy  of  regret  occur  later  in  the 
version. 

In  "  Oedipus  "  there  is  little  similarity  in  the  two  versions,  as 
Hofmannsthal  in  his  drama  gives  us  only  the  Vorgeschichte  of 


108 

the  classical  play.  Numerous  soliloquies  occur  in  this  drama, 
some  with  a  great  deal  of  expositional  material  in  a  rather  un- 
dramatic  mold,  others  reflective  and  emotional,  in  which  excla- 
mations, apostrophes  and  questions  are  employed  to  good  effect. 

Hardt's  "  Tantris  der  Narr  "  and  Stucken's  Grail  series  con- 
sisting of  "  Gawan,"  "  Lanval "  and  "  Lanzelot,"  will  illustrate 
the  other  modern  movement.  The  splendor  of  medieval  knight- 
hood and  chivalry,  enchanted  woods  and  chapels,  moonlit  val- 
leys and  vile  sorcerers  are  revived  in  these  plays.  Soliloquies 
are  not  numerous  in  these  dramas.  In  "  Lanzelot,"  e.  g.,  none 
whatever  occur,  the  author  preferring  to  let  his  character  in- 
dulge in  pantomime,  where  the  setting  is  most  propitious  for  a 
soliloquy,  as  in  III,  5 :  "  After  Lanzelot  has  gone,  Elaine  falls 
upon  her  knees  beside  the  bed,  shaken  with  sobs.  Then  she 
rises,  wipes  away  the  tears  and  goes  to  the  alcove  on  the  right, 
where  she  hastily  dresses.  Suddenly  she  stops  to  listen  and 
hurries  to  the  door  in  the  background.  Carefully  she  opens 
the  door  and  looks  out."  Occasionally  long  epic  narratives 
are  found,  as  in  "  Gawan."  Expositional  material  is  not  often 
met  with  in  the  soHloquies,  which  are  generally  cast  in  very 
dramatic  form,  as,  e.  g.,  Gawan's  sleep  soliloquy,  III,  his  con- 
flict soliloquy,  IV,  2,  Lanval's  longing  for  his  fairy  wife,  IV,  i. 

In  the  initial  expositional  soliloquy  in  "  Gawan,"  delivered 
by  Artus,  there  is  a  beautiful  descriptive  passage  addressed  to 
the  Virgin : 

"  Schon  warst  Du  Marie,  so  erschrocken  und  kindlich  hold ! 
Alabaster  Dein  Kinn,  Deine  Locken  gesponnenes  Gold, 
Und  Dein  Augenpaar  zwei  Seen  mit  blauen  Tiefen, 
Die  selbst  nie  die  Perlen  gesehen,  die  drunten  schliefen. 
Dein  Schneeleib  war  durchbebt  von  des  Wunders  Schauer." 

In  Hardt's  "  Tantris,"  there  is  but  one  dramatic  soliloquy,  in 
his  "  Gudrun  "  four  occur,  three  of  them  reflective,  the  other 
an  outburst  of  anger  and  grief.  Apostrophes  and  exclamations 
and  occasionally  the  dialog  form  are  very  effectively  employed 
in  many  of  the  soliloquies. 


109 


Conclusion 


Has  the  recent  drama  gained  in  artistic  effectiveness  by  its 
disuse  of  the  soHloquy?  Is  dramatic  technic  improved  by  the 
elimination  of  the  convention  of  the  sohloquy?  The  answer 
to  these  questions,  which  were  touched  upon  in  the  discussion 
of  Hauptmann,  will  round  out  this  investigation. 

"  The  history  of  the  drama  is  the  long  record  of  the  effort  of 
the  dramatist  to  get  hold  of  the  essentially  dramatic  and  to  ca=t 
out  everything  else."^  The  naturalistic  dramas  have  cast  out 
the  soliloquy  and  the  aside  because  they  have  felt  both  to  be 
unnatural.  Their  attitude  is  that  of  Archer,  who  says :  "  A 
drama  with  soliloquies  and  asides  is  like  a  picture  with  inscribed 
labels  issuing  from  the  mouths  of  the  figures.  The  glorious 
problem  of  the  modern  playwright  is  to  make  his  characters  re- 
veal the  inmost  W'orkings  of  their  souls  without  saying  or  doing 
anything  that  they  w^ould  not  say  or  do  in  the  real  world."-  A 
glorious  problem,  indeed !  But  unless  we  are  endowed  with  a 
sixth  sense  that  will  enable  us  to  become  proficient  mind- 
readers,  I  fear  that  these  inmost  workings  of  the  soul  will  be 
shrouded  in  impenetrable  darkness.  But,  the  naturalist  will 
retort,  a  pause,  a  look  of  the  eye,  facial  expression,  the  actor's 
actions  and  pantomime,  will  convey  to  the  audience  what  is 
going  on  in  the  mind  of  the  character.  It  is  undeniable,  "  that 
for  the  practical  purposes  of  dramatic  presentation,  the  symp- 
toms of  passion  can  be  mechanically  mimicked  with  tolerable 
precision."^ 

The  simple  or  primary  emotions,  such  as  grief,  joy,  terror, 
"which  have  immediate  and  characteristic  outward  symptoms"* 
can  undoubtedly  be  revealed  to  the  audience.  But  what  of  the 
more  complex  and  habitual  emotions  which  are  rather  attitudes 
of  mind  and  have  no  characteristic  outward  symptoms,  such  as 
love,  hatred,  jealousy?  Neither  the  character's  attitude  nor 
the  conflicting  emotions  that  surge  through  his  soul  at  a  crisis, 

1  B.  Matthews,  The  Development  of  the  Drama,  p.  321. 

2  W.  Archer,   Playmaking,  A   Manual   of  Craftsmanship,   London,    1912, 

p.  305. 

3W.  Archer,  Masks  or  Faces,  London,  1888,  p.  199. 
*  W.  Archer,  op.  cit.,  p.  207. 


110 

to  say  nothing  of  his  inner  thoughts,  can  be  revealed  to 
the  audience  by  means  of  facial  expression  or  pantomime. 
"  The  conflicting  emotions  of  a  hero  at  the  crisis  of  his  fate  can 
not  possibly  be  made  known  except  out  of  his  own  mouth."^ 
"  The  soliloquy  in  which  a  character  speaks  boldly  of  his  most 
secret  thoughts  lets  a  tortured  hero  unpack  his  heart ;  it  opens 
a  window  into  his  soul  and  it  gives  the  spectator  a  pleasure  not 
to  be  had  otherwise."^  I  quite  agree  with  Robert  Hessen  when 
he  says :  "  I  have  witnessed  enough  pantomimes  in  my  lifetime 
to  know  that  they  are  significant  only  where  nothing  at  all  is  to 
be  expressed  and  every  laboring  man  would  understand  the 
crude  stuff.  Where  something  worth  while  is  to  be  conveyed 
the  understanding  ceases  and  the  libretto  is  pressed  into  serv- 
ice. And  along  this  line  lies  the  development  of  the  drama 
when  every  soliloquy  is  dropped.  On  the  stage  pantomime; 
the  audience  with  their  noses  buried  in  books,  that  is  known  by 
the  name  of  '  modern  dramas.'  "^  Speaking  of  a  performance 
of  "  Francillon  "  he  says :  "  The  impersonator  of  Lucien  groped 
about  the  stage  for  minutes  in  absolute  silence  and  the  audience 
sat  there  with  gaping  mouths  without  having  the  slightest  idea 
of  what  it  was  all  about."^ 

If,  accordingly,  a  character's  inmost  thoughts  and  his  inner 
conflicts  can  not  be  expressed  even  adequately  by  means  of  the 
substitute  which  the  naturalists  have  offered,  viz.,  pantomime, 
then  the  dramatist  is  handicapped  by  the  loss  of  the  soliloquy, 
and  dramatic  technic  is  made  less  effective.  If  the  drama  loses 
in  artistic  power  by  the  elimination  of  this  convention,  it  is  high 
time  that  the  dramatists  of  today  protest  against  its  disuse  and 
emphasize  the  protest  by  again  employing  it.  "  Artistic  and 
art-loving  painters  and  sculptors  woiild  scornfully  reject  such 
a  proposition  as  the  following :  *  Yes  you  may  paint,  but  you 
must  no  longer  use  blue  or  yellow,'  or,  *  Yes,  indeed,  you  may 
make  statues  of  women,  but  only  with  a  veil,  like  the  fellah 
women  in  Egypt.  The  upper  part  of  the  nose  and  the  eyes 
may  be  visible,  but  no  more.  If  you  are  any  sort  of  artist  you 
will  be  able  to  make  a  very  expressive  face  in  spite  of  this  re- 

1  B.  Matthews,  A  Study  of  the  Drama,  pp.  148-149. 

2  Dr.  Robert  Hessen  (Avonanius),  Dramatische  Handwerkslehre,  Ber- 
lin, 1902,  pp.  232-233.       rtj, 


Ill 

striction.'  "^  The  simple  fact  that  naturalists  have  lost  their 
taste  for  soliloquies  is  no  reason  why  every  one  else  should  dis- 
like them.  Their  reiteration  of  the  demand  that  everything  on 
the  stage  should  be  a  faithful  copy  of  life  is  absurd,  inasmuch 
as  practically  everything  connected  with  a  performance  on  the 
stage  rests  upon  conventions.  Even  in  a  prose  play  based  upon 
every-day  life,  there  is  readjustment  of  the  plot,  a  compression 
as  it  were,  so  that  it  will  fit  into  the  two  or  three  hours  set 
aside  for  the  performance,  the  elucidation  of  the  plot  so  that  it 
becomes  clear  to  the  spectator,  the  condensation  and  heighten- 
ing of  the  dialog.  Then  there  is  the  removal  of  the  fourth  wall, 
the  raising  of  the  actor's  voices,  the  selection  and  heightening 
or  emphasizing  of  gesture  and  facial  play.  "  Everyone  knows 
that  the  actor  is  not  necessarily  a  mere  copyist  of  nature;  he 
must  always  imitate,  though  we  may  permit  him  to  steep  his 
imitation,  so  to  speak,  in  a  more  or  less  conventional  atmos- 
phere." "  He  plays  naturally,"  or,  in  other  words,  "  He  imi- 
tates well "  is  our  highest  formula  of  praise  even  for  the  oper- 
atic tenor  or  the  French  tragedian,  who  may  not  deliver  a  single 
word  or  tone  exactly  as  it  would  be  uttered  in  real  life.^ 

Inasmuch  as  the  convention  of  the  soliloquy,  then,  is  but  one 
of  many,  the  singling  out  of,  and  the  attack  upon,  this  one  con- 
vention is  uncalled  for  and  illogical.  If  the  characters  must 
not  do  or  say  anything  that  they  would  not  do  or  say  in  the 
real  world,  then  let  the  gentlemen  of  the  naturalistic  school  be 
consistent  and  eliminate  all  the  other  numerous  conventions. 
No  defense  of  the  expositional  soliloquy  is  intended  or  implied 
in  the  preceding  remarks.  It  is,  as  Mr.  Archer  aptly  calls  it, 
a  slovenliness,  and  all  critics  are  agreed  that  it  must  be  shunned. 
But  when  Mr.  Archer  suggests  that  "a  conversation  on  the 
telephone  often  provides  a  convenient  and  up-to-date  substitute 
for  a  soliloquy,"^  does  he  suppose  that  an  up-to-date  audience 
will  fail  to  see  through  the  thin  disguise  and  not  regard  this 
makeshift  with  an  amused  smile? 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Mr.  Archer,  after  denouncing 
the  soliloquy  as  a  "  slovenliness  "  and  "  a  disturbing  anachro- 

1  R.  Hesscn,  op.  cit.,  p.  2Z2. 

2  W.  Archer,  Masks  or  Faces,  p.   196. 
8W.  Archer,  Playmaking,  p.  305. 


112 

nism,"  suffers  a  change  of  heart  and  champions  the  poor  down- 
trodden outcast  by  approving  of  the  emotional  and  conflict 
soliloquy.  His  attitude,  especially  if  it  reflects  the  point  of 
view  of  the  naturalists,  augurs  well  for  the  future  of  the  solilo- 
quy and  points  to  a  new  lease  of  life  for  it.  In  answer  to  his 
question :  "  Are  there  in  modern  drama  any  admissible  solilo- 
quies ?"^  he  writes :  "  A  few  brief  ejaculations  oi  joy  or  despair, 
are,  of  course,  natural  enough  and  none  will  cavil  with  them.  The 
approach  of  mental  disease  is  often  marked  by  a  tendency  to 
unrestrained  loquacity,  which  goes  on  while  the  sufferer  is 
alone,  and  this  distressing  symptom  may,  on  rare  occasion,  be 
put  to  artistic  use.  (Gryphius  was  the  first  to  advance  this 
idea.)  Short  of  actual  derangement,  however,  there  are  cer- 
tain states  of  nervous  excitation  which  cause  even  healthy 
people  to  talk  to  themselves,  and  if  an  author  has  the  skill  to 
make  us  realize  that  his  character  is  passing  through  such 
a  crisis,  he  may  risk  a  soliloquy,  not  only  without  reproach  but 
with  conspicuous  psychological  justification."^  The  last  part 
of  this  statement  bears  out  Brander  Matthews's  remark  that 
"  the  conflicting  emotions  of  a  hero  at  the  crisis  of  his  fate  can 
not  be  made  known  except  out  of  his  own  mouth."  The  vul- 
nerable part  of  his  dictum  lies  in  the  fact  that  he  attempts  to 
convert  a  convention  into  a  faithful  reproduction  of  life.  The 
thoughts  and  emotions  of  a  character  at  a  crisis  would  rarely 
if  ever  be  expressed  in  real  life  other  than  by  gestures  and 
facial  expression  and  possibly  by  brief  ejaculations.  If  then, 
the  character  on  the  stage  indulges  in  a  soliloquy,  it  is  because 
the  author  is  making  thought  audible  for  our  benefit  by  means 
of  the  convention  of  the  soliloquy  which  permits  inaudible 
thought  to  become  audible.  At  any  rate,  Mr.  Archer  has  seen 
the  necessity  of  informing  the  audience  of  what  goes  on  in  the 
minds  of  the  characters,  and  that  is  a  decided  step  in  advance 
of  the  naturalists,  who  have  been  unsuccessful  in  conveying 
such  information  by  means  of  pantomime. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  dramatic  authors  of  today  and 
tomorrow  will  realize  that  the  elimination  of  the  soliloquy  of 
thought  and  feeling  is  a  loss  to  the  drama  and  that  their  restora- 
tion will  increase  its  artistic  effectiveness. 

1  W.  Archer,  Playmaking,  p.  306  ff. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Anzengruber,  L.,  Dramas  of. 

Archer,  W.,  English  Dramatists  of  Today,  London,  1882. 

Masks  or  Faces,  London,  1888. 

Playmaking,  London,  191 2. 
Arnold,  L.  M.,  The  Soliloquies  of  Shakespeare,  N.  Y.,  191 2. 
Ayrer,  J.,  Selected  Plays  of. 
Berger,  A.  v.,  Meine  Hamburgische  Dramaturgic,  Wien,  1910. 

tjber  Drama  und  Theater,  Leipzig,  1900. 
Creizenach,  W.,  Die  Schauspiele  der  englischen  Komodianten, 
Berlin,  1889. 

Geschichte  des  neueren  Dramas,  Halle,  1893. 
Devrient,  E.,  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Schauspielkunst,  1848. 
Drama  des  Alittelalters,  3  vols.,  ed.  by  R.  Froning  Stuttgart, 

1891. 
Diisel,  F.,  Der  dramatische  Monolog  in  der  Poetik  des  17  und  18. 

Jahrhunderts   und   in   den   Dramen   Lessings,   Hamburg, 

1897. 
Franz,  R.,  Der  Monolog  und  Ibsen,  Marburg,  1907. 
Freytag,  G.,  Technik  des  Dramas,  loth  edition,  Leipzig,  1905. 
Fulda,  L.,  Der  Talisman. 
Gartelmann,  H.,  Dramatik,  Berlin,  1892. 

Gengenbach,  P.,  Die  Totenfresser.    Die  zehn  Alter  dieserWelt. 
Glock,  A.,  Die  Buhne  des  Hans  Sachs,  Passau,  1903. 
Goethe,  J.  W.,  Dramas  of. 
Gottschall,  R.  v.,  Zur  Kritik  des  modernen  Dramas,  Berlin, 

1900. 
Gottsched,  J.  C.,  Versuch  einer  kritischen  Dichtkunst,  1730, 

Cato. 
Grillparzer,  F.,  Dramas  of. 
Gryphius,  A.,  Dramas  of. 

Hamilton,  C.,  Theory  of  the  Theatre,  N.  Y.,  1910. 
Hardt,  E.,  Tantris  der  Narr.     Gudrun. 
Hauptmann,  G.,  Dramas  of. 

9  113 


114 

Hebbel,  F.,  Dramas  of. 

Tagebiicher, 
Hedelin,  The  Whole  Art  of  the  Stage  Made  English,  1684. 
Heinrich  Julius,  Dramas  of. 
Henderson,  A.,  The  Evolution  of  Dramatic  Technic,  North 

Am.  Rev.,  March,  1909. 
Hennequin,  A.,  The  Art  of  Playwriting,  1890. 
Hessen,  R.,  Dramatische  Handwerkslehre,  Berlin,  1902. 
Hofmannsthal,  H.  v.,  Elektra.     Oedipus. 
Holz,  A.,  Die  Familie  Selicke.     (Holz  und  Schlaf.) 
Ibsen,  H.,  Dramas  of. 
Kleist,  H.,  Dramas  of. 

Klinger,  P.,  Sturm  und  Drang.     Die  Zwillinge. 
Leisewitz,  J.,  Julius  von  Tarentum. 
Lenz,  J.,  Der  Hofmeister.     Die  Soldaten. 
Lessing,  G,  E.,  Dramas  of. 

Hamburgische  Dramaturgie. 

Beitrage  zur  Historic  und  Aufnahme  des  Theaters. 
Lohenstein,  C,  Cleopatra.     Ibrahim  Sultan. 
Ludwig,  O.,  Dramas  of. 

Shakespeare  Studien. 

Dramatische  Studien. 
Matthews,  B.,  The  Development  of  the  Drama,  N.  Y.,  1906. 

A  Study  of  the  Drama,  N.  Y.,  1910. 

Concerning  the  Soliloquy,  Putnam's  Monthly,  Nov.,  1906. 
Meyer,  H.,  Das  Drama  H.  v.  Kleists,  Gottingen,  191 1. 
Miiller,  Maler,  Golo  und  Genoveva. 
Mundt,  T.,  Dramaturgie,  Berlin,  1848. 
Paull,  H.  M.,  Dramatic  Convention  with  Special  Reference  to 

the  Soliloquy,  Fortnightly  Review,  May,  1899. 
Pfefifer,  C,  Die  Psychologic  der  Charaktere  in  Hebbels  Tra- 

godie,  Leipzig. 
Rebhuhn,  P.,  Susanna. 

Robertson,  J.  G.,  Zur  Kritik  Jakob  Ayrers  mit  besonderer 
Riicksicht  auf  sein  Verhaltnis  zu  Hans  Sachs  und  den 
englischen  Komodianten,  Leipzig,  1892. 
Sachs,  Hans,  Fastnachtspiele ;  Comedies  and  Tragedies,  selec- 
tion of. 


115 

Schiller,  F.,  Dramas  of. 

Schlaf,  J.,  Meister  Olze.     Die  Familie  Selicke. 

Schlag,  H.,  Das  Drama,  Essen,  1909. 

Schlegel,  J.  E.,  Hermann. 

Shrovetide  Plays  of  the  fifteenth  Century,  ed.  by  Keller,  Stutt- 
gart, 1858. 

Sittenberger,  H.,  Die  Wahrheit  auf  der  Bithne,  1893. 

Stachel,  P.,  Seneca  und  das  deutsche  Renaissance  Drama, 
Berlin,  1907. 

Stucken,  E.,  Gawan.     Lanval.     Lanzelot. 

Stiirmer  und  Dranger,  ed.  by  A.  Sauer,  Berlin,  1885. 

Sudermann,  H.,  Dramas  of. 

Wagner,  H.,  Die  Kindermorderin. 

Waldis,  B.,  Der  verlorene  Sohn. 

Weise,  C,  Die  bose  Catharine.  Der  Baurische  Machiavellus. 
Masaniello. 

Weszleny,  R.,  Hebbels  Genoveva,  Berlin,  1910. 


INDEX 


The  Index  contains  the  titles  of  works  and  the  names  of  authors 
mentioned  in  the  text  or  footnotes  of  the  foregoing  treatise. 

Abhandlung  vom  Trauerspiele,  Sn 

8n. 
Ablasskramer,   Der, 


25. 

Aesthetik,  Hegel's,  8n. 
Aesthetik,  Vischer's,  pn. 
Ain  guot  Vasnachtspil,  25. 
Alsfelder  Passionsspiel,  21,  22,  23. 
Anzengruber,  L.,  98,  99. 

Kreuzelschreiber,   Die,  99. 

Meineidbauer,  Der,  99. 

Pfarrer  von  Kirchfeld,  Der,  99. 

Vierte  Gebot,  Das,  99. 
Archer,  W.,  7,  loi,  109,  in,  112. 
Aristotle,  41. 
Arnim,  A.  v.,  ^6. 
Arnold,  L.  M.,  in,  3,  4,  8,  9,  18,  74. 
Art  of  Playwriting,  The,  3n. 
Augustine,  St.,  2. 
Ayrer,  J.,  31,  ZZ- 

Comedia  von  der  schonen  Sidea, 
33. 

Batteux,  C,  6. 

Berger,  A.  v.,  90,  90n,  100,  loin. 

Bodmer,  J.,  2n. 

Brentano,  C,  ^6. 

Briefe     iiber     die     Wienerische 

Schaubiihne,  6. 
Brittanica  Encyclopedia,  3. 
Brockhaus,   Konversationslexikon, 

3- 
Biihne  des  Hans  Sachs,  Die,  27n. 

Concerning  the  Soliloquy,  iin. 
Corneille,  P.,  9,  40,  41. 
Creizenach,  W.,  3 in. 

Delius,  N.,  9. 
De  Sommi,  6. 


Destouches,  P.,  45. 

Deutsche  Literatur  des   19.  Jahr- 

hunderts,  in,  99n. 
Deutsche  Schaubiihne,  9,  40. 
Development  of  the  Drama,  The, 

in,  ion,  109. 
Devrient,  E.,  24n,  27n. 
Diderot,  D.,  5,  8. 
Dostojev^rsky,  F.,  5. 
Drama,  Das,  sn,  9n. 
Drama  H.  v.  Kleists,  Das,  76n. 
Drama  des  Mittelalters,  Das,  20n. 
Drama  der  Reformationszeit,  Das, 

25n. 
Dramatic  Convention  with  Special 

Reference    to    the    Soliloquy, 

3n,  5n. 
Dramatik,  5n,  9n. 
Dramatische  Handwerkslehre,  no. 
Dramatische  Monolog  in  der  Poe- 

tik  des   17.  und  18.  Jahrhun- 

derts  und  in  den  Dramen  Les- 

sings,  Der,  7n,  8n,  i8n,  41  n. 
Dramaturgic,  9n. 
Dryden,  J.,  3n. 
Diisel,  R,  7,  8n,  18,  4in. 

Einleitung  in  die  schonen  Wissen- 

schaften,  6n. 
Engel,  J.  J.,  8. 

English  Dramatists  of  Today,  7n. 
Essay  on  Dramatic  Poesy,  3n. 
Essay  on  Poetry,  6n. 
Etymological  Dictionary,  2n. 
Evolution    of    Dramatic    Technic, 

The,  3n,  Sn. 

Fastnachtspiele  aus  dem  15.  Jahr- 

hundert,  23,  25,  28n. 
Fastnachtspiele  von  Sachs,  I3n. 


116 


117 


Francillon,  no. 

Frankfurter  Passionsspiel,  22,  23. 
Franz,  R.,  in,  4n,  5n,  Qn,  ^^. 
Freytag,  G.,  7,  8,  17,  28. 
Froning  R.,  2on,  24,  24n,  25n,  26n. 
Fulda,  L.,  106. 

Der  Talisman,  106. 

Gartelmann,  H.,  5,  9. 
Gengenbach,  P.,  25. 
Die  Totenfresser,  25. 
Die  zehn  Alter  dieser  Welt,  25. 
Geschichte   der  deutschen  Litera- 

tur,  gSn. 
Geschichte  der  deutschen   Schau- 

spielkunst,  24n,  27n. 
Geschichte    des   neueren    Dramas, 

6n. 
Glock,  A.,  27n. 

Goethe,  J.  W.,   13,  42,  5i,  62-75, 
^6,  80,  87. 
Aufgeregten,  Die,  63,  (>T. 
Bruchstiicke  einer  Tragodie,  63. 
Clavigo,  67n,  ^2>^ 
Egmont,  64,  65,  66,  67n,  69,  IZ^ 

74,  75- 
Faust,  13,  16,  62,  63,  64,  65,  66, 

67,  68,  69,  70,  73,  75- 
Geschwister,  Die,  62,  63,  67n,  73. 
Gotz,  14,  62,  64,  66,  67,  69,  70, 

73,  76. 
Grosscophta,  Der,  68n. 
Iphigenie,  13,  I5,  62,  64,  66,  67n, 

12,  72'  74,  75,  80. 
Laune  des  Verliebten,  Die,  67. 
Mitschuldigen,   Die,   62,  66,   67, 

68,  69,  70,  71. 

Natiirliche  Tochter,  Die,  14,  65, 
67n,  70,  74,  75- 

Nausikaa,  63. 

Pandora,  63,  64,  66. 

Stella,  64,  65,  71,  72,  7i'  74,  75- 

Tasso,  67n,  68n,  72,  74,  75,  77< 
80. 
Gottschall,  R.  v.,  2,  8n,  9. 
Gottsched.  J.  C,  6,  9.  25,  40,  41,  42. 

Cato,  40. 


Gottsched,  Luise,  9,  40. 
Grande  Encyclopedic,  La,  3. 
Grillparzer,  F.,  13,  80-87. 

Ahnfrau,  Die,  13,  81,  82,  83,  84, 
85,  86. 

Argonauten,  Die,  83,  84,  85. 

Blanka  von  Kastilien,  80,  81,  85, 
86. 

Bruderzwist  in  Habsburg,  Ein, 
85,  86. 

Gastfreund,  Der,  83. 

Goldene  Vliess,  Das,  81. 

Jiidin  von  Toledo,  Die,  82,  84, 85. 

Konig  Ottokars  Gliick,  14,  83, 86. 

Libussa,  16,  81,  83,  85. 

Medea,  84. 

Meeres  und  der  Liebe  Wellen, 
Des,  13,  80,  81,  82,  83,  84,  86. 

Psyche,  81. 

Robert,  81. 

Rosamunde,  81. 

Rosamund  Clifford,  81. 

Sappho,  16,  80,  83,  84,  85,  86. 

Schreibfeder,  Die,  81. 

Traum  ein  Leben,  Der,   13,  80, 
81,  82,  83. 

Treuer  Diener,  Ein,  81,  85,  86. 

Weh  dem,  der  liigt,  82,  84,  85. 

Wer  ist  schuldig,  81,  84. 
Grune  Heinrich,  Der,  5n. 
Gryphius,  A.,  4,  U.  34-38,  39,  4i. 
112. 

Cardenio  und  Celinde,  34,  Z7- 

Carolus  Stuardus,  13,  35- 

Catharine  von  Georgien,  34,  36. 

Geliebte  Dornrose,  Die,  38. 

Horribilicribrifax,   38. 

Leo  Armenius,  34,  37- 

Papinianus,  13.  35.  36- 

Peter  Squenz,  38. 

Hamburgische  Dramaturgic, 

Meinc,  9on. 
Hamilton,  C,  i. 
Hanstcin,  A.,  88n. 
Hardt.  E.,  108. 
Gudrun,  108. 


118 


Tantris  der  Narr,  io8. 
Hauptmann,  G.,  12,  14,  100-105. 

Einsame  Menschen,  103,  104. 

Florian  Geyer,  14. 

Friedensfest,  Das,  103,  104. 

Versunkene  Glocke,  Die,   106. 

Vor    Sonnenaufgang,    102,    103, 
104,  105. 

Weber,  Die,  104,  105. 
Hebbel,  R,  8,  8&-95. 

Agnes  Bernauer,  13,  91,  92,  9311. 

Diamant,  Der,  91,  92,  93,  9311. 

Genoveva,  14,  89,  90,  91,  92,  93, 
93n,  94,  95. 

Gyges  und  sein  Ring,  93n,  95. 

Herodes  und  Mariamne,  93,  93n, 
94,  95- 

Judith,  89,  90,  92,  93,  93",  95- 

Julia,  91,  93,  93n,  94- 

Kriemhilds  Rache,  93n,  94. 

Maria   Magdalene,   92,   93n,   94, 
95- 

Michelangelo,  13,  90. 

Nibelungen,  Die,  93n. 

Siegfrieds   Tod,   93n,   94. 

Tagebiicher,  8n,  89. 

Trauerspiel  in  Sizilien,  Ein,  91. 
Hebbels  Genoveva,  88n,  90n. 
Hedehn,  6,  7,  12,  41. 
Hegel,  G.,  8. 
Heinrich  JuHus,  18,  31-33. 

Buhler  und  Buhlerin,  32. 

Konig  von  Schottland,  31. 

Susanna,  32n. 

Von  einem  Edelmann,  32n. 

Von  einem  ungerathenen  Sohn, 

Henderson,  A.,  i,  3,  5,  7. 
Hennequin,  A.,  3. 
Hermann,  41. 
Herodes,  40. 
Hessen,  R.,  no,  in. 
Heyse,  P.,  5. 
Hofmannsthal,  H.  v.,  107. 

Elektra,  107. 

Oedipus,  107. 


Holberg,  40. 
Holz,  A.,  12,  102. 
Die  Familie  Selicke,  102. 

Ibsen,  H.,  i,  2,  10,  46,  y6,  96,  100, 
loi,  102,  103. 

Brand,   loi. 

Doll's  House,  A,  46,  loi,  103. 

Emperor  and  Gahlean,  loi. 

Ghosts,  46,  loi,  103. 

Hedda  Gabler,  loi,  103. 

John    Gabriel    Borkmann,    loi, 
102. 

Lady  from  the  Sea,  loi,  103. 

League  of  Youth,  i,  loi. 

Little  Eyolf,    loi. 

Love's  Comedy,  loi. 

Master  Builder,  102. 

Peer  Gynt,  loi. 

Pillars  of  Society,  loi,  103. 

Pretenders,  loi. 

Rosmersholm,  46,  loi,  103, 

Wild  Duck,  loi,  102. 
Ibsen  als  Idealist,  8Sn. 

Keller,  A.  v.,  23n,  25n,  ZZ^^. 

Keller,  G.,  5- 

Kihan,  E.,  9. 

Klaj,  J.,  40. 

Kleist,  H.  v.,  4,  76-80. 

Familie  Schroffenstein,  Die,  77, 
78. 

Hermannsschlacht,   Die,   77,  80. 

Kathchen  von  Heilbronn,  14,  77, 
78,  79,  80. 

Penthesilea,  77. 

Prinz  von  Homburg,  77,  80. 

Robert  Guiskard,  77,  80. 

Zerbrochene  Krug,  Der,   77. 
Klinger,  Max,  10. 
KHnger,  F.,  10,  51. 

Die  Zwillinge,  51,  52. 
Koch,  M.,  98n. 

Larousse  Nouveau,  2n. 
Leisewitz,  J.,  51. 


119 


Julius  von  Tarentum,  51,  53- 
Lenz,  J.,  51. 

Der  Hofmeister,  51,  53. 
Lessing,  G.  E.,  5,  8,  15,  41,  42-51, 
96,98. 
Alte  Jungfer,  Die,  42,  4311,  44, 

45n. 
Beytrage  zur  Historie  u.  Auf- 

nahme  des  Theaters,  4Sn. 
Damon,  42,  44. 
Emilia  Galotti,  13,  14,  16,  46,  47, 

48,  49- 
Freigeist,  Der,  42,  43,  44,  45- 
Hamburgische  Dramaturgie,  8n, 

46,  50. 

Juden,  Die,  42,  44,  45- 

Junge  Gelehrte,  Der,  4,  42,  44- 

Minna  v.  Barnhelm,   14,  46,  48, 

50. 
Misogyn,  Der,  42,  44. 
Miss  Sara  Sampson,  14,  46,  48, 

49- 
Nathan  der  Weise,  I4n  ,16,  46, 

47,  48,  49,  SO,  58. 
Philotas,  13,  16,  46,  47,  48,  50. 
Schatz,  Der,  42,  43,  44,  45- 

Lohenstein,  C,  39- 

Cleopatra,  39. 

Ibrahim  Sultan,  39. 
Ludwig,  O.,  9,  95-98. 

Dramatische  Studien,  96,  97- 

Erbforster,  Der,  95,  97,  98. 

Hans  Frei,  97. 

Makkabaer,  Die,  95,  97- 

Shakespeare  Studien,  9",  9^,  97- 

Marienklage,  22. 

Marivaux,  P.,  45- 

Marmontel,  J.,  5- 

Masks  or  Faces,  I09n,  iiin. 

Matthews,  B.,  i,  2,  4n,  10,  n,  15. 

i7n,  109,  no. 
Medea,  34. 

Mediaeval  Church  Plays,  20-25. 
Mendelssohn,  M.,  8. 
Merlin,  5n. 


Meyer-Benfy,  H.,  ^(i,  78. 
Meyer,  R.  M.,  in,  98,  99. 
Meyer,  Konversationslexikon,  3. 
Moliere,  9,  40,  41. 

Comtesse  d'Escarbagnnes,  9. 

Critique,  9. 

Impromptu,  9. 
Monolog  und  Ibsen,  Der,  in,  gn, 

77n. 
Mulgrave,  Earl  of,  6. 
Muller  Maler,  51,  52. 

Golo  und  Genoveva,  51,  52,  53. 
Mundt,  T.,  9- 

Nicolai,  C,  5- 

Oxford  Dictionary,  2. 

Paul,  Jean,  4,  5- 
Paull,  H.  M.,  3,  5,  10. 
Pfeffer,  C,  88n. 
Playmaking,  logn,  inn,  Ii2n. 
Poe,  E.  A.,  7- 
Poetique,  5. 
Pope  Joan,  24. 
Pratique  du  Theatre,  6n. 
Proelss,  J.,  ZT. 

Psychologie    der    Charaktere    in 
Hebbels  Tragodie,  Die,  88n. 

Racine,  J.  B.,  40. 

Ramler,  S.  K.  W.,  6. 

Rebhuhn,  P.,  26. 

Redentiner  Osterspiel,  13,  22,  23. 

Regnard,  J.,  45- 

Robertson,  J.  G.,  ZZ,  33n. 

Roman  Comedy,  4- 

Sachs,  H.,  12,  13,  16,  17,  i8,  26-31, 
ZZ- 
Bauer  im  Fegfeuer,  Der,  17,  30. 
Boss  Weib,  Das,  29. 
Eulcnspiegel,  29. 
Fortunatus,  29,  30. 
Hoffgsindt  Veneris.  Das,  29. 
Hornen  Seifrit,  Der,  30,  31- 
Schon  Marina,  Die,  29,  30. 


120 


Teuffel    mit    dem    Kauflfmann, 

Der,  29. 
Vier  ungliickhafften  Liebhaben- 
den,  Die,  29. 
Sanftes  Weib,  Ein,  511. 
Sauer,  A.,  51,  5111. 
Schauspiele  der  englischen  Komo- 

dianten,  Die,  3111. 
Schauspiele  des  Herzog  Heinrich 

Julius,  Die,  3211. 
Schiller,  F.,  42,  51,  53-62,  76,  80, 
87. 
Braut  von  Messina,  Die,  55,  57n, 

60. 
Demetrius,  59. 
Don  Karlos,  16,  57,  58,  59,  60, 

61. 
Fiesco,  i6,  55,  57,  59,'  60,  61. 
Jungfrau  von  Orleans,  Die,  13, 

54,  55,  57n,  59,  60. 
Kabale  und  Liebe,  15,  55,  57n. 

61. 
Maria  Stuart,  54,  55,  57,  60. 
Piccolomini,  Die,  S7n. 
Rauber,  Die,  13,  14,  16,  51,  53,  54, 

56,  57,  58,  59,  60,  61. 
Wallensteins  Tod,  16,  54,  55,  57, 

59,  60,  61. 
Wilhelm  Tell,  15,  16,  57,  58,  60, 
76. 
Schlaf,  J.,  102. 
Die  Familie  Selicke,  102. 
Meister  Olze,  102. 
Schlag,  H.,  5,  9. 
Schlegel,  A.  W.,  8. 
Schlegel,  J.  E.,  9,  41. 
Seneca,  L.,  34. 

Seneca  und  das  deutsche  Renais- 
sance Drama,  34n. 
Shakespeare,  W.,  76,  96,  97. 
Sittenberger,  H.,  I03n. 
Skeat,  W.  W.,  2n. 
Soliloquies  of   Shakespeare,   The, 

in,  3n,  4n,  74n. 
Sonnenfels,  J.  v.,  6. 
Sophocles,  107. 


Stachel,  P.,  34,  34n. 
Standard  Dictionary,  2. 
Stucken,  E.,  108. 

Gawan,  108. 

Lanval,  108. 

Lanzelot,  108. 
Study  of  the  Drama,  A,  i,  15,  no. 
Stiirmer  und  Dranger,  5in. 
Sudermann,  H.,  12,  105,  106. 

Drei  Reiherfedern,  Die,  106. 

Ehre,  Die,  106. 

Fritzchen,  106. 

Gluck  im  Winkel,  Das,  106. 

Heimat,  Die,  106. 

Johannes,  106. 

Sodoms  Ende,  106. 

Teja,  106. 
Susanna,  26. 

Technik  des  Dramas,  7n,  8n,  I7n. 

Theory  of  the  Theatre,  in. 

Thomas,  C,  26. 

Tieck,  L.,  76. 

Titan,  5n. 

Tittmann,  J.,  32n. 

Trierer  Osterspiel,  2in. 

Uber  Drama  und  Theater,  loin. 

Verlorene  Sohn,  Der,  26. 
Versuch    einer   Critischen    Dicht- 

kunst,  6n. 
Vischer,  F.,  9. 
Vondel,  J.,  34- 
Voltaire,  40. 

Wagner,  H.,  51. 

Die  Kindermorderin,  51,  53. 
Wahrheit    auf    der    Biihne,    Die, 

I03n. 
Waldis,  B.,  26. 
Weise,  C,  39,  40,  4i- 

Baurische  Machiavellus,  Der,  39, 
40. 

Bose  Catharine,  Die,  39. 

Masaniello,  39,  40. 


121 

Weszleny,  R.,  88n,  90.  Zur  Kritik  des  modernen  Dramas, 
Whole  Art  of  the  Stage,  The,  311,  211,  8n,  911. 

8n.  Zur  Kritik  Jakob  Ayrers,  3311. 
Wiener  Passionsspiel,  2i. 


VITA 

The  author,  Erwin  W.  Roessler,  was  born  near  Stuttgart, 
Germany,  March  17th,  1880.  He  attended  the  elementary  and 
high  schools  of  Chicago,  111.,  and  took  his  A.B.  degree  at  the 
University  of  Chicago  in  the  summer  of  1900.  From  1900- 
1901  he  took  graduate  work  in  Latin  at  the  University  of  Chi- 
cago; from  1906-1911  he  pursued  courses  in  the  department  of 
Germanic  Languages  and  Literature  of  Columbia  University. 
In  1904  he  became  instructor  of  modern  languages  in  the  New 
York  High  School  of  Commerce;  since  1908  he  has  been  chair- 
man of  the  department. 

The  author  is  indebted  to  Professor  Calvin  Thomas  for  valu- 
able suggestions  given  during  the  preparation  of  the  dissertation. 


'4^ 


122 


»5  52  37 


RETURN       CIRCULATION  DEPARTAAENT 
TOi^       202  Main  Library 


LOAN  PERIOD  1 
HOME  USE 


HUE   AS   STAMPED   BELOW 


BEG.  cm.  y,^X9'a<S 


FORM  NO.  DD  6, 


"university  of  CALIFORNIA,  BEKKtLtY 
BERKELEY,  CA  94720 


